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Scotland shakes off Brexit gloom with 3% house price growth
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Antonia Di LorenzoAnnual price growth in Scotland has outpaced England and Wales in every month since December 2017
Average house prices in Scotland increased by 3.2% over the year to January, rising by £5,675 to £184,324, according to the latest figures released by Your Move.
Transaction numbers for 2018 were down slightly compared to 2017, but the estate agent said there was still reason to feel optimistic, with sales 4% cent higher in the last quarter of the year than in the same period in 2017.
Edinburgh booms
More than half the increase in the average price over the last year can be traced to the performance of Edinburgh’s housing market on a weight-adjusted basis, the research showed.
In Edinburgh prices rose 10.4% annually, taking the average up to £289,327 at the end of January.
This was the biggest increase in Scotland outside of Clackmannanshire, which was up 16%, but based on only 40 sales.
It is also the seventh time in the last twelve months that Edinburgh has recorded double-digit annual house price growth.
Steve Hardaker, Your Move’s managing director in Scotland, said the Scottish market has continued to exhibit robust growth across all price brackets, making it an attractive market.
Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, part of the LSL group of companies, said: “Edinburgh’s strength is remarkable in its own right, but compared to the rest of the UK and the other major cities it’s a phenomenon.
“We should be looking carefully now at how we can ensure adequate supply for a market that is seeing such strong demand.”