National statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: October 2018

Published 19 December 2018

Applies to Scotland

1. Headline statistics in October 2018

the average price of a property in Scotland was

£151,508

the annual price change of a property in Scotland was

4.4%

the monthly price change of a property in Scotland was

-0.3%

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

112.3

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 November 2018 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 16 January 2019. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

Scotland house prices grew by 4.4% in the year to October 2018, down from 5.1% in the year to September 2018. Scotland house prices are growing quicker than the UK annual rate of 2.7% in the year to October 2018. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Scotland fell by 0.3% between September and October 2018, compared with an increase of 0.4% during the same period a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.4% between September and October 2018.

The UK Property Transaction Statistics for October 2018 showed that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in the 3 months to October 2018, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater in Scotland was 28,720. This is up 1.3% compared to the 3 months to October 2017.

In Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in October 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Detached houses showed the biggest increase, rising by 5.4% in the year to October 2018 to £263,000. The smallest increase of all property types was flats and maisonettes, with an increase of 3.9% in the year to October 2018 to £109,000.

House prices increased over the last year in 27 out of 32 local authority areas. The biggest price increase was in the City of Glasgow, where prices increased by 9.3% in the year to October 2018 to £135,000. The largest decrease was recorded in the City of Aberdeen, where average prices fell over the year by 6.0% to £157,000.

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 4.4% in the year to October 2018 (down from 5.1% in the year to September 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 October 2018 October 2017 Difference
Aberdeenshire £192,523 £190,045 1.3%
Angus £146,316 £141,383 3.5%
Argyll and Bute £144,978 £135,256 7.2%
City of Aberdeen £156,774 £166,772 -6.0%
City of Dundee £126,797 £120,774 5.0%
City of Edinburgh £261,806 £243,986 7.3%
City of Glasgow £135,238 £123,779 9.3%
Clackmannanshire £128,022 £122,955 4.1%
Dumfries and Galloway £130,296 £128,178 1.7%
East Ayrshire £94,681 £97,897 -3.3%
East Dunbartonshire £218,795 £202,654 8.0%
East Lothian £224,063 £217,914 2.8%
East Renfrewshire £221,031 £222,142 -0.5%
Falkirk £122,652 £117,416 4.5%
Fife £135,315 £131,513 2.9%
Highland £167,613 £158,016 6.1%
Inverclyde £101,419 £97,366 4.2%
Midlothian £187,031 £174,626 7.1%
Moray £150,556 £147,016 2.4%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £114,870 £104,030 10.4%
North Ayrshire £105,491 £103,262 2.2%
North Lanarkshire £109,102 £101,242 7.8%
Orkney Islands £161,966 £132,985 21.8%
Perth and Kinross £192,185 £181,605 5.8%
Renfrewshire £123,287 £117,041 5.3%
Scottish Borders £156,965 £154,479 1.6%
Shetland Islands £143,053 £144,530 -1.0%
South Ayrshire £135,448 £135,841 -0.3%
South Lanarkshire £127,896 £125,399 2.0%
Stirling £185,174 £176,715 4.8%
West Dunbartonshire £107,748 £100,869 6.8%
West Lothian £160,991 £152,243 5.7%
Scotland £151,508 £145,058 4.4%

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 October 2018, the most expensive area to live in was City of Edinburgh, where the cost of an average house was £262,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was East Ayrshire, where an average house cost £95,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type October 2018 October 2017 Difference
Detached £263,300 £249,768 5.4%
Semi-detached £158,553 £151,416 4.7%
Terraced £124,884 £119,897 4.2%
Flat or maisonette £109,019 £104,955 3.9%
All £151,508 £145,058 4.4%

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 August 2018 August 2017
Aberdeenshire 416 349
Angus 214 183
Argyll and Bute 196 165
City of Aberdeen 374 313
City of Dundee 268 253
City of Edinburgh 1,098 1,223
City of Glasgow 1,240 1,125
Clackmannanshire 111 79
Dumfries and Galloway 260 220
East Ayrshire 219 193
East Dunbartonshire 243 188
East Lothian 210 200
East Renfrewshire 202 164
Falkirk 315 251
Fife 720 656
Highland 499 434
Inverclyde 141 144
Midlothian 139 132
Moray 180 155
Na h-Eileanan Siar 25 31
North Ayrshire 266 225
North Lanarkshire 571 454
Orkney Islands 45 43
Perth and Kinross 285 316
Renfrewshire 365 342
Scottish Borders 221 234
Shetland Islands 29 22
South Ayrshire 242 231
South Lanarkshire 635 573
Stirling 156 159
West Dunbartonshire 164 134
West Lothian 351 327
Scotland 10,400 9,518

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

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

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
August 2014 9,448
August 2015 8,715
August 2016 8,641
August 2017 9,518
August 2018 10,400

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 August 2018 Monthly change Annual change
New build £216,888 3.8% 10.5%
Existing resold property £150,133 0.1% 3.2%

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 October 2018 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £122,346 -0.5% 4.1%
Former owner occupier £181,812 -0.1% 4.8%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price October 2018 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £139,812 -0.2% 4.3%
Mortgage £156,934 -0.4% 4.5%

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