Scottish house prices rise 2.2%

The average price of a home in Scotland in December 2016 increased by 2.2% compared with the previous year to reach an average of £172,204, fresh data shows.

Property prices in 11 of the 32 local authorities saw modest growth of £2,100 month-on-month, or 1%, led by gains in East Renfrewshire, where prices rose by 11.5% year-on-year to reach an average of £252,926 at the end of December – more than any other part of Scotland, according to the latest Your Move Scotland House Price Index.

The lower end of the housing market has outperformed the top of the market, growing 1.9%, supported by growth in areas such as West Dunbartonshire and Clackmannanshire where prices rose by 7.1% and 6.1% respectively.

But it is the mid-market that has been driving property price growth north of the border over the past year, thanks in part to stable growth in prices in areas such as Glasgow City, where values rose by 5.9% annually, as well as neighbouring South Lanarkshire and Dundee City, where values increased by 5.7% and 5.1% respectively.

At the other end of the scale, Inverclyde saw the weakest house price growth, with prices falling by 9.4% in the 12 months ending in December 2016, while Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City both saw falls of 4% each.

Overall, annual property price growth in Scotland still trails the 3.6% rise in England and Wales as a whole, but is outperforming Wales (2.1%), the North East (where prices remain flat), and London (1.3%), the figures reveal.

Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, commented: “Scotland’s market continues to make steady progress, not hitting the highs of some other parts of the UK, but also missing the lows. It enters the new year in a good place.”

Also reflecting on the latest Scottish house price data, Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele in Scotland, part of LSL, added: “Scotland has weathered the uncertainty of 2016 remarkably well, supported by solid mid-market performance. The relatively modest growth belies an underlying strength, which is now less dependent on the relatively small number of high value sales that can sway the average figures.”