- Average house price now stands at £183,994 – up by £11,800 over last year
- Lothians, Edinburgh and surrounding areas contribute significantly to 6.9% annual growth in house prices in April
- Annual prices up in 28 of 32 local authorities
The market gathered its breath in Scotland in April, with monthly price growth slowing to 0.3% from 0.9% the month before and a peak of 1.7% in February.
That also meant annual price growth slowed, from 7.8% in March to 6.9% in April.
That still leaves the average house price in Scotland up by £11,800 in the last 12 months, reaching £183,994. The growth rate is the third highest since April
2008 (other than the period around the introduction of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in April 2015, which led some buyers to rush to buy property
to avoid additional taxes that might become payable). Prices in Scotland are therefore growing at their highest for a decade and continue to leave the rest of
the UK behind, with an annual growth of 2.1% in England, 4.2% in Northern Ireland and 5.2% in Wales.
Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, one of Scotland’s oldest firms of chartered surveyors and part of the LSL group of
companies, said: “Price growth in Scotland has come off the boil a little, but it had to for it to be sustainable. While Edinburgh powers on, it provides a strong foundation for the market.”