The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in September 2017 was £144,924 – an increase of 3.1 per cent on September in the previous year and a decrease of 1.3 per cent when compared to the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £226,367, which was an increase of 5.4 per cent on September in the previous year and an increase of 0.4 per cent when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in July 2017 was 8,725 – a decrease of 5.7 per cent on July 2016 and a decrease of 18.3 per cent on the previous month. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 17.1 per cent in England, 11.3 per cent in Wales and 8.6 per cent in Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2017).

Registers of Scotland business development and information director Kenny Crawford said: “Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in September with an increase of 3.1 per cent when compared to September 2016. Average prices have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

“Residential sales volumes declined in July. The annual decrease of 5.7 per cent on July 2016 in Scotland was the smallest across the UK. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date – from April to July 2017 – was 35,484. This is an increase of 10.5 per cent on the equivalent year to date position for July 2016.”

The top five local authorities in terms of July sales volumes were the City of Edinburgh (1,145 sales), Glasgow City (1,018 sales), Fife (607 sales), South Lanarkshire (510 sales) and North Lanarkshire (436 sales).

Average price increases were recorded in 30 out of 32 local authorities in September 2017, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increase was in the City of Edinburgh, where the average price increased by 9.0 per cent to £248,702. Decreases were recorded in Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen City, where prices fell by 2.0 per cent to £192,292 and by 3.5 per cent to £165,275 respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in September 2017 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Flatted properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 4.2 per cent to £105,398. The average price of semi-detached properties showed the smallest increase, 2.1 per cent to £149,616.

The average price in September 2017 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £117,510 – an increase of 3.1 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £173,160 – also an increase of 3.1 per cent on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £133,783 – an increase of 2.9 per cent on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £150,085 – an increase of 3.2 per cent on the previous year.