The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in April 2018 was £148,952 – an increase of 5.6 per cent on April in the previous year and an increase of 2.5 per cent when compared to the previous month. This compares to a UK average of £226,906, which was an increase of 3.9 per cent on April in the previous year and an increase of 1.2 per cent when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in February 2018 was 5,288 – a decrease of 9.1 per cent on February 2017. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 15.4 per cent in England and 8.6 per cent in Wales in February 2018, and 12.4 per cent in Northern Ireland in Quarter 1 – 2018.

Registers of Scotland Business Development and Information Director Kenny Crawford said: “Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in April with an increase of 5.6 per cent when compared to April 2017. Average prices have been increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

“Residential sales volumes decreased in February. The annual decrease of 9.1 per cent when compared with February 2017 in Scotland is in the context of large decreases across the rest of the UK. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date – from April 2017 to February 2018 – was 92,571. This is an increase of 4.9 per cent on the equivalent year to date position in the previous financial year 2016/17.”

Average price increases were recorded in the vast majority (28) of local authorities in April 2018, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in West Dunbartonshire, City of Edinburgh and Midlothian, where average prices increased by 14.6 per cent to £106,928, 13.2 per cent to £254,251 and 11.6 per cent to £177,593 respectively. The largest decrease was recorded in Inverclyde where prices fell by 7.2 per cent to £95,069. Decreases were also seen in Aberdeenshire, City of Aberdeen and Perth & Kinross, with average prices falling by 2.9 per cent, 2.5 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

Increases in sales volumes were recorded in four local authorities in February 2018, when comparing volumes with the previous year. The biggest increases were in Perth and Kinross and City of Edinburgh, where volumes increased by 15.9 per cent to 190 sales and 9.0 per cent to 633 sales respectively. The biggest decreases were in Dundee City and Argyll & Bute, where volumes fell by 32.2 per cent to 103 sales and 30.2 per cent to 90 sales respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in April 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced properties and semi-detached showed the biggest increases, both rising by 7.4 per cent to £124,533 and £156,515 respectively. The average price of flatted properties showed an increase of 4.2 per cent to £107,059, the smallest increase of all property types.

The average price in April 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £120,912 – an increase of 5.7 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £177,669 – an increase of 5.3 per cent on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £137,085 – an increase of 5.1 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £154,474 – an increase of 5.8 per cent on the previous year.