National statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: November 2018

Published 16 January 2019

Applies to Scotland

1. Headline statistics in November 2018

the average price of a property in Scotland was

£150,638

the annual price change of a property in Scotland was

2.9%

the monthly price change of a property in Scotland was

-0.7%

the index figure for Scotland (January 2015 = 100) was

111.6

Estimates for the most recent months are provisional and are likely to be updated as more data is incorporated into the index. Read the revision policies.

Next publication of UK HPI

The December 2018 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 13 February 2019. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

Scotland house prices grew by 2.9% in the year to November 2018, down from 4.6% in the year to October 2018. Scotland house prices were growing quicker than the UK annual rate of 2.8% in the year to November 2018. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Scotland fell by 0.7% between October 2018 and November 2018, compared with an increase of 0.9% during the same period a year earlier (October 2017 and November 2017). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland fell by 0.8% between October 2018 and November 2018.

The UK Property Transaction Statistics for November 2018 showed that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in the 3 months to November 2018, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater in Scotland was 26,590. This is down 3.6% compared with the 3 months to November 2017.

In Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in November 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced houses showed the biggest increase, rising by 4.3% in the year to November 2018 to £126,000. The smallest increase of all property types was flats and maisonettes, with an increase of 1.8% in the year to November 2018 to £108,000.

House prices increased over the last year in 27 out of 32 local authority areas. The biggest price increase was in Midlothian, where prices rose by 11.9% in the year to November 2018 to £188,000. The largest fall was recorded in the City of Aberdeen, where average prices fell over the year by 6.7% to £155,000.

As with other indicators in the housing market, which typically fluctuate from month to month, it is important not to put too much weight on one month’s set of house price data.

3. Price change

3.1 Annual price change

Annual price change for Scotland over the past 5 years

Annual price change for Scotland over the past 5 years

In Scotland, the average price increased by 2.9% in the year to November 2018 (down from 4.6% in the year to October 2018).

Annual price change by local authority for Scotland

Low numbers of sales transactions in some local authorities, such as Orkney Islands, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Shetland Islands, can lead to volatility in the series.

While we make efforts to account for this volatility, the change in price in these local levels can be influenced by the type and number of properties sold in any given period.

Geographies with low number of sales transactions should be analysed in the context of their longer-term trends rather than focusing on monthly movements.

Local authorities November 2018 November 2017 Difference
Aberdeenshire £188,651 £188,617 0.0%
Angus £145,297 £141,715 2.5%
Argyll and Bute £144,250 £136,427 5.7%
City of Aberdeen £154,550 £165,582 -6.7%
City of Dundee £124,557 £119,095 4.6%
City of Edinburgh £266,985 £244,341 9.3%
City of Glasgow £134,327 £124,683 7.7%
Clackmannanshire £126,248 £120,535 4.7%
Dumfries and Galloway £127,120 £126,421 0.6%
East Ayrshire £94,216 £94,730 -0.5%
East Dunbartonshire £213,672 £205,656 3.9%
East Lothian £224,164 £219,485 2.1%
East Renfrewshire £221,749 £222,325 -0.3%
Falkirk £122,546 £118,169 3.7%
Fife £135,334 £129,030 4.9%
Highland £170,923 £156,078 9.5%
Inverclyde £100,500 £98,842 1.7%
Midlothian £187,796 £167,855 11.9%
Moray £146,776 £146,638 0.1%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £114,070 £100,752 13.2%
North Ayrshire £105,198 £102,543 2.6%
North Lanarkshire £106,245 £102,721 3.4%
Orkney Islands £160,761 £135,938 18.3%
Perth and Kinross £188,318 £180,797 4.2%
Renfrewshire £121,527 £118,934 2.2%
Scottish Borders £156,907 £152,682 2.8%
Shetland Islands £154,844 £161,443 -4.1%
South Ayrshire £135,560 £135,789 -0.2%
South Lanarkshire £128,224 £124,284 3.2%
Stirling £181,699 £170,980 6.3%
West Dunbartonshire £105,383 £105,148 0.2%
West Lothian £158,583 £152,463 4.0%
Scotland £150,638 £146,350 2.9%

All sales received for registration with an entry date (date of ownership of the property) within the report date range are now allocated to a local authority where previously sales not allocated to a local authority were omitted in the reports. We will monitor the impact of this over the coming months.

Average price by local authority for Scotland

Average price by local authority for Scotland

In November 2018, the most expensive area to live in was the City of Edinburgh, where the cost of an average house was £267,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was East Ayrshire, where an average house cost £94,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type November 2018 November 2017 Difference
Detached £260,004 £251,882 3.2%
Semi-detached £156,795 £151,788 3.3%
Terraced £125,616 £120,473 4.3%
Flat or maisonette £108,398 £106,533 1.8%
All £150,638 £146,350 2.9%

4. Sales volumes

The amount of time between the sale of a property and the registration of this information varies. It typically ranges between 2 weeks and 2 months but can be longer. Volume figures for the most recent two months are not yet at a reliable level for reporting, so they are not included in the report. Published transactions for recent months will increase as later registered transactions are incorporated into the index.

Sales volume data is also available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read Revisions to the UK HPI data for more information.

4.1 Sales volumes by local authority

Sales volumes for Scotland by local authority

Local authorities September 2018 September 2017
Aberdeenshire 326 370
Angus 175 174
Argyll and Bute 161 148
City of Aberdeen 333 377
City of Dundee 242 234
City of Edinburgh 997 1,175
City of Glasgow 932 1,099
Clackmannanshire 76 76
Dumfries and Galloway 218 258
East Ayrshire 180 201
East Dunbartonshire 124 201
East Lothian 211 199
East Renfrewshire 160 130
Falkirk 185 268
Fife 606 726
Highland 377 434
Inverclyde 106 100
Midlothian 144 173
Moray 121 168
Na h-Eileanan Siar 31 37
North Ayrshire 216 248
North Lanarkshire 454 465
Orkney Islands 31 33
Perth and Kinross 238 293
Renfrewshire 328 348
Scottish Borders 219 187
Shetland Islands 18 37
South Ayrshire 180 217
South Lanarkshire 558 616
Stirling 154 167
West Dunbartonshire 126 115
West Lothian 245 329
Scotland 8,472 9,603

Note: The ‘Difference’ column has been removed from this table as the latest month’s data are not yet complete.

The estimate for September 2018 is calculated based on around 85% of the final registered transactions. The number of property transactions for September 2018 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for September 2017 to the provisional estimate for September 2018, volume transactions decreased by 9.1% in Scotland.

UK Property Transaction Statistics published by HM Revenue & Customs (which differ in coverage but are more complete for this period) report that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, volume transactions decreased by 10.6% in Scotland in the year to September 2018.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
September 2014 7,883
September 2015 8,618
September 2016 9,563
September 2017 9,603
September 2018 8,472

5. Property status

Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and need more time to process. This means they can take longer to appear in the land registers. The volume of new build transactions for the most recent two months are not at a reliable level for reporting the breakdown between new build and existing resold property, so they are not included in the report.

New build and existing resold property for Scotland

Property status Average price September 2018 Monthly change Annual change
New build £208,608 -1.9% 6.7%
Existing resold property £149,753 -0.1% 5.0%

Note: since the October 2017 release, amendments have been made to our estimation model when calculating our provisional estimate. Find out further information and the impact of this change in methods used to produce the UK HPI.

6. Buyer status

First time buyer and former owner occupier for Scotland

Type of buyer Average price November 2018 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £121,735 -0.3% 2.7%
Former owner occupier £180,611 -1.2% 3.2%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price November 2018 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £138,574 -0.8% 2.5%
Mortgage £156,255 -0.7% 3.1%

8. Access the data

Download the data as CSV files or access it with our UK HPI tool.

Data revisions

View any revisions to previously published data in the data downloads or find out more about revisions in our guidance About the UK HPI.

9. About the UK House Price Index

The UK House Price Index (UK HPI) is calculated by the Office for National Statistics and Land & Property Services Northern Ireland. Find out about the methodology used to create the UK HPI.

Data for the UK House Price Index is provided by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, The Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency.

Find out more about the UK House Price Index.

10. Contact for Scotland queries

Anne MacDonald, Land & Property Data Team, Registers of Scotland

Email Anne.MacDonald@ros.gov.uk

Telephone 0131 378 4991