The most recent quarterly house price statistics published by the Registers of Scotland (ROS), covering the period from October to December 2018, revealed that the average price of a residential property in Scotland was £181,820, which was a 3.2% increase compared with the same period in the previous year. The volume of residential sales was up 1.8% compared to the same period in 2017 and the total value of residential sales rose by 5.1% compared to the previous year.

Clackmannanshire saw the largest increase in average selling prices (up 16.2%) and the greatest increase in total value (up 28.4%), during these three months compared to the previous year. East Lothian saw the greatest increase in sales volumes, rising by 21.0% year-on-year.

From October to December 2018, properties in the capital saw the highest selling prices – the ROS data revealed the average selling price in Edinburgh from October to December 2018 to be £272,694, which was an 8.2% increase compared to the previous year.

Glasgow was revealed to be the area with the highest sales volume in Scotland during this period, with sales in the city comprising 11.2% of Scotland’s total sales volume at 3,233, which was a 1.9% decrease on the previous year. However, Edinburgh wasn’t far behind, with the number of properties sold in the capital comprising 11.0% of Scotland’s total sales volume at 3,188, which was a 4.1% decrease on the previous year.

Outwith the Central Belt, properties in the Scottish Borders saw an 8.3% increase in total sales volume compared to last year. The Borders also saw a small decrease in average selling prices, dropping by 4.8% to £178,654. In Dumfries and Galloway, the average selling price rose by 4.1% year-on-year while sales volume increases by 2.4%.

In Aberdeen, the average selling price dropped by 4.3% to £194,219 and the sales volume also decreased by 2.4%. In Angus and Dundee, the average selling price rose by 4.1% and the sales volume decreased by 0.3%.

Paul Hilton, Chairman of SPC Scotland, said: “Over the last three months of 2018, both the average selling price and total sales volume in Scotland showed a small increase in comparison to the previous year. A shortage of properties has limited the market in recent years so the increase in sales volumes indicates more properties coming to market, which suggests that sellers are feeling confident in the current market conditions. However, as the average selling price is still increasing, it would appear that buyer demand remains relatively strong.

“Based on this data, the Scottish property market seems to be reasonable stable as we approach Brexit. However, it will be interesting to monitor the impact of leaving the EU on buyer and seller confidence in Scotland over the coming months.”