Property market surge pushes Scottish prices up by 12%

The average price of a home in Scotland in the last year soared by 12% to £173,961.

Latest figures for the 12 months to the end of June have just been published by the Registers of Scotland (RoS).

Another positive sign for the property market was a huge increase in the number of homes changing hands. Residential sales in Scotland in April 2021 totalled 7,007 - a massive jump of 199.4% on the same month last year when the country was in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Janet Egdell, RoS accountable officer, said: "Prices continued their trend upwards in June, and the number of transactions has reverted to a more normal pattern."

Year-on-year price increases were recorded in 31 out of Scotland's 32 local authorities. The largest rise on the mainland was in East Renfrewshire where the average price soared by 22% to £254,771 in the 12 months to June.

Regional breakdown

Other areas recording double-digit rises included: Inverclyde (+18.6% to £114,218); East Dunbartonshire (+15.9% to £233,444); Renfrewshire (+15.8% to £139,645); Scottish Borders (+15.6% to £177,372); Argyll  and Bute (+15.5% to £158,495); North Lanarkshire (+14.6% to £124,937); East Lothian (+14.1% to £270,125); Midlothian (+13.5% to £211,250); Glasgow (+12.2% to £152,434); Fife (+11.8% to £151,123); Dundee (+11.3% to £139,770); Clackmannanshire (+11.3% to £144,868); South Ayrshire (+10.3% to £149,360); South Lanarkshire (+10% to £145,153).

The continuing recovery in the north-east housing market following the recent downturn in the oil industry was also confirmed in the new figures. Aberdeenshire enjoyed a 4.3% rise to £186,863 and Aberdeen was ahead by 2.8% to £142,752. The smallest increase was in Angus - by 1.8% to £150,819.

The only fall was in Na h-Eileanan Siar, where the average price decreased by 5.5% to £123,572. In Scotland as a whole, detached properties showed the largest year-on-year rise in prices by 14.2% to £307,453. Flats experienced the smallest increase of 9% to £120,893.

In June 2021, the highest-priced area to purchase a property was Edinburgh, at an average  £302,936. In contrast, the lowest-priced location was East Ayrshire, where the typical cost was £103,630. But RoS stressed it was important not to put too much weight on one month's set of house-price data.

It added: "This has been particularly important over recent months, as Covid-19 has affected the volume of transactions within the market - making trends between months more volatile than usual and will continue to be important over the coming months as the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on the housing market and the economy becomes clear." 

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