Scotland's housing market has been experiencing a lockdown boom, with 30 out of 32 local authority areas seeing an increase in prices over the last twelve months.
Despite the economic hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic, average house prices across the country rose from £186,816 in February 2020 to £204,782 for the same period this year - that's an annual change of 9.6%, equivalent to around an £18,000 increase.
The pricest places in Scotland, include; Edinburgh, East Renfrewshire, East Lothian and East Dunbartonshire, with average property prices now hitting over £310,000 in the capital.
While at the other end of the scale, North Ayrshire, West Dunbartonshire, East Ayrshire and Inverclyde, are the cheapest, with prices in the latter averaging £125,218.
Average prices in Glasgow are now exceeding Aberdeen - the first time since April 2006, as prices in the central Scotland city now sit at £191,396, outranking Aberdeen which has dipped to £190,895 from £194,430 last year.
Glasgow's property prices have increased a massive 16.5% in the last year, moving from 17 in the local authority price ranking, up to 13.
Chartered surveyors Walker Fraser Steele said the reason prices were racing ahead was due to the "pent-up demand for housing".
Price ranking by Local Authority
- City of Edinburgh
- East Renfrewshire
- East Lothian
- East Dunbartonshire
- Stirling
- Midlothian
- Perth and Kinross
- Aberdeenshire
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
- Highlands
- South Ayrshire
- Glasgow City
- Aberdeen City
- Angus
- Moray
- Fife
- Argyll and Bute
- South Lanarkshire
- Clackmannanshire
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Shetland Islands
- Orkney Islands
- Falkirk
- Renfrewshire
- Dundee City
- North Lanarkshire
- Na h-Eileanan Star
- North Ayrshire
- West Dunbartonshire
- East Ayrshire
- Inverclyde
The biggest increase over the year was in Stirling at 18.8%, helped by the purchase of a stunning detached home in the Bridge of Allan, which went for £1.7 million – the highest price paid for a property in Stirling over the last twelve months.
While East Dunbartonshire saw prices drop by 2.6%, despite it still being one of the most expensive to buy in Scotland.
It was one of just two local authorities that saw drops, the other being Aberdeen City.
Last year, 638 properties costing £750,000 or over sold and this is the highest amount sold in six years.
In February, Glasgow and Edinburgh collectively accounted for 31% of the uplift in Scotland’s average house price over the last twelve months. If you add South Lanarkshire, Perth and Kinross, and Fife to the list, they make up 50% of the increase in prices that has taken place at the national level over the last year.
In Edinburgh and Glasgow, it is the price of flats that has had the largest influence on prices over the last twelve months, with Glasgow flats up from an average £142k in February 2020 to an average £167k this February, while in Edinburgh the equivalent figures are up from £241k to £261k.
The area with the highest increase in prices in the month of February was Clackmannanshire, up by 6.8%. The housing statistics for Clacks include the second-most expensive detached home of the last twelve months, being a 5-bedroom property currently let out for self-catering holidays, renting out for £1,500 per week - it sold for £900k.
Looking at Scotland's seven cities, Edinburgh continues to top the list with average prices at £310,357 and Dundee is at the bottom with £150,722.
Rank of house prices in Scotland's seven cities
- Edinburgh
- Stirling
- Perth
- Inverness
- Glasgow
- Aberdeen City
- Dundee
Compared to the rest of the UK, Scotland finished just marginally ahead of England and Wales at 9.6%, compared to 9.1 in terms of rates of growth from December 2020 through to February 2021.
Alan Penman, Business Development Manager at Walker Fraser Steele, said: “This month’s report is a very clear statement about the resilience of the Scottish housing market.
"This level of sustained price growth underlines how well the property market continues to perform in comparison to other areas of the economy. “
“It will be interesting to see if Holyrood’s decision to end the LBTT holiday on 1st April this year negatively impacts the market compared to the rest of the UK where an extension to stamp duty has been granted until after the summer. With its support, we have seen the market in Scotland perform well.”
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