The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in August 2017 was £146,354 – an increase of 3.9 per cent on August in the previous year and a decrease of 0.7 per cent when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £225,956, which was an increase of 5.0 per cent compared to August in the previous year and an increase of 0.5 per cent when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in June 2017 was 10,473 – an increase of 19.3 per cent on June 2016 and an increase of 26.2 per cent on the previous month. This compares with an annual decrease in sales volumes of 11.0 per cent in England and annual increases in sales volumes of 1.4 per cent in Wales and 5.0 per cent in Northern Ireland (Quarter 2 – 2017).

Registers of Scotland registration and transformation director Charles Keegan said: “Residential sales volumes have taken a boost in June, with volumes hitting a five figure total for the first time since March 2016. The volume in June 2017 was 10,473, while the volume of sales recorded in March 2016 was 11,017. However, the 2016 figure is likely to have been enhanced by house buyers seeking to finalise purchases prior to the introduction of changes to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax that came into effect on 1 April 2016. Sales volumes in Scotland also continued to perform well in comparison to the other countries of the UK.

“Average prices in Scotland also continued their upward trend in August with an increase of 3.9 per cent when compared to August 2016. Average prices have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.”

The top five local authorities in terms of sales volumes were Glasgow City (1,224 sales), the City of Edinburgh (1,216 sales), Fife (704 sales), South Lanarkshire (674 sales) and North Lanarkshire (561 sales).

Average price increases were recorded in 28 out of 32 local authorities in August 2017, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increase was in the City of Edinburgh, where the average price increased by 10.4 per cent to £246,611. The biggest decreases were in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City, where prices fell by 5.7 per cent to £188,876 and by 4.8 per cent to £167,903 respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types, with the exception of detached properties, showed an increase in average price in August 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Flatted properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 8.4 per cent to £108,772. The average price of detached properties decreased by 1.9 per cent to £240,241.

The average price in August 2017 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £120,824 – an increase of 6.2 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £171,611 – an increase of 1.5 per cent on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £135,802 – an increase of 4.7 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £151,197 – an increase of 3.5 per cent on the previous year.