HOUSE prices in in Edinburgh and Glasgow remain buoyant and are rising while in Aberdeen one month has seen a doubling in the annual rate of home value declines due to the downturn in in the oil and gas sector.
The oil price slump has seen Aberdeen cement its position as the only city in a Hometrack survey which has seen a house price drop in the past year.
The study of 20 major UK cities, shows that average house prices in the Granite City has fallen by three per cent to £188,000 in the year to March 2016. In the year to February, prices fell by 1.6 per cent.
But in the English house price hotspots, the annual rise in prices has accelerated, with Cambridge experiencing a 15.6 per cent leap, London with 14.2 per cent and Bristol with 13.5 per cent.
House prices in Glasgow rose by 4.5 per cent in the year, while in Edinburgh home values increased by 6.7 per cent.
Faisal Choudhry, Savills Scotland's head of residential research said the impact on Aberdeen house prices comes after comes after seven years of "phenomenal growth".
"The market in Aberdeen below £400,000 is relatively active and there is high demand for attainably priced housing, especially for public sector employees. Future infrastructure projects as part of the local City Deal will improve the local economy and connectivity with the rest of the country," he said.
He said Edinburgh prices were supported by a lack of supply, particularly for family housing, with high demand, due to strong employment opportunities, in the public sector, finance, retail and IT.
He believed Glasgow’s "relative affordability" is supporting the local market with high demand for properties in the west end and south side from first time buyers and young professionals.
Dr John Boyle, Rettie and Co's research and strategy director pointed out that Aberdeen house prices are still nine per cent ahead of 2007 levels, before the economic downturn.
"We’ve been seeing quite strong growth in our Edinburgh and Glasgow sales in the last few months – there has been a bounce back in the market after it settled down to tax changes and an improving economy and better access to mortgage finance have certainly improved things and got chains going again," he said.
"We’re optimistic for the year ahead, although political uncertainty may start impacting over the summer."
The data emerged as Your Move figures showed that average property prices in Scotland fell one per cent in February from the previous month – the first monthly drop seen since June 2015.
The dip comes despite the strongest February for home sales north of the border since 2008, up 19 per cent year-on-year after a buy-to-let flurry.
Prices were also down 2.1 per cent year on year, taking the average price of a home to £168,020, according to the latest Your Move monthly index.
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