THE average price of a house in Scotland has increased by its largest annual amount since October 2018.
Fresh figures from Registers of Scotland (RoS) show that house prices rose by 4.3 per cent in September, compared to the year before.
The average house now costs £161,510, a increase of 4.4% on the month before.
The UK average house price was £244,513, up by 4.7 per cent on September 2019 and an increase of 1.7 per cent on the previous month.
However, the affects of the pandemic loomed large over the figures, with the market slumping due to the lockdown.
According to RoS, the volume of residential sales in Scotland in July 2020 was 4,982, a decrease of almost half on the original provisional estimate for July 2019.
This compares with a decrease of 30.1 per cent in England, 47.2 per cent in Wales, and 68.3 per cent in Northern Ireland.
READ MORE: Housebuilder Barratt 24 per cent rise in home sales since July hailed
Commenting on the volume figures in Scotland, Accountable Officer Janet Egdell said: “Scottish house prices continue to trend upwards in September, this is the largest annual increase in Scottish house prices since October 2018."
In Scotland, Semi-detached properties showed the largest increase, rising by 5.6 per cent in the year to September 2020 to £169,522.
Flatted properties showed the smallest increase, rising by 2.7 per cent in the year to August 2020 to £115,847.
Average price increases were recorded in the majority (22) of local authorities, when comparing prices with the previous year.
The largest increase was in South Ayrshire where the average price increased by 8.1 per cent to £149,168. The largest decrease was recorded in City of Aberdeen, where the average price fell by 7.9 per cent to £135,595.
READ MORE: Historic Aberdeen hotel falls victim to lockdown
Edinburgh remains the city with the most valuable property, with the average house costing £280,154.
In Glasgow, the average house price rose from £137,925 to £144,828, an increase of 5.0%.
Inverclyde had the lowest average house prices, at £97,723.
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