UK House Price Index Scotland: December 2020
Published 17 February 2021
Applies to Scotland
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-house-price-index-scotland-december-2020/uk-house-price-index-scotland-december-2020
1. Headline statistics for December 2020
The average price of a property in Scotland was £162,983
The annual price change of a property in Scotland was 8.4%
The monthly price change of a property in Scotland was -1.2%
The index figure for Scotland (January 2015 = 100) was 120.8
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 January 2021 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 24 March 2021. See the calendar of release dates for more information.
2. Economic statement
Scotland house prices increased by 8.4% in the year to December 2020, up from an increase of 8.1% in year to November 2020. Scotland house prices were growing slower than the UK annual rate of 8.5% in the year to December 2020. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Scotland decreased by 1.2% between November and December 2020, compared with a decrease of 1.5% during the same period a year earlier (November and December 2019). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland have increased by 0.1% between November and December 2020.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2019 with the provisional estimate for October 2020, volume transactions increased by 31.9% in Scotland. UK volume transactions increased by 5.6% over the same period.
In Scotland, detached houses showed the biggest increase out of all property types, rising by 9.9% in the year to December 2020 to £285,000. The smallest average house price change of all property types was in flats and maisonettes, up by 7.3% in the year to December 2020 to £116,000.
House prices increased over the year in 29 out of 32 local authority areas. The largest growth was in East Ayrshire where prices increased by 17.9% in the year to December 2020 to £111,000. The biggest fall for year ending December 2020 was recorded in City of Aberdeen where average prices fell over the year by 2.1% to £143,000.
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
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
In Scotland, average prices increased by 8.4% in the year to December 2020, compared with an increase of 8.1% in year to November 2020.
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 | December 2020 | December 2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | £183,687 | £180,745 | 1.6% |
| Angus | £152,759 | £145,672 | 4.9% |
| Argyll and Bute | £154,815 | £152,158 | 1.7% |
| City of Aberdeen | £142,631 | £145,717 | -2.1% |
| City of Dundee | £132,662 | £121,886 | 8.8% |
| City of Edinburgh | £288,899 | £274,421 | 5.3% |
| City of Glasgow | £149,565 | £136,054 | 9.9% |
| Clackmannanshire | £140,189 | £127,664 | 9.8% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £140,264 | £130,872 | 7.2% |
| East Ayrshire | £111,306 | £94,417 | 17.9% |
| East Dunbartonshire | £228,209 | £210,774 | 8.3% |
| East Lothian | £248,233 | £235,097 | 5.6% |
| East Renfrewshire | £251,163 | £223,209 | 12.5% |
| Falkirk | £140,046 | £129,989 | 7.7% |
| Fife | £144,936 | £132,297 | 9.6% |
| Highland | £176,301 | £167,462 | 5.3% |
| Inverclyde | £107,752 | £98,515 | 9.4% |
| Midlothian | £194,575 | £185,310 | 5.0% |
| Moray | £161,725 | £149,102 | 8.5% |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | £116,601 | £117,344 | -0.6% |
| North Ayrshire | £113,810 | £101,894 | 11.7% |
| North Lanarkshire | £115,933 | £108,458 | 6.9% |
| Orkney Islands | £165,421 | £165,963 | -0.3% |
| Perth and Kinross | £206,592 | £189,390 | 9.1% |
| Renfrewshire | £137,094 | £122,509 | 11.9% |
| Scottish Borders | £174,140 | £157,438 | 10.6% |
| Shetland Islands | £167,486 | £139,664 | 19.9% |
| South Ayrshire | £151,849 | £133,359 | 13.9% |
| South Lanarkshire | £138,976 | £128,902 | 7.8% |
| Stirling | £212,979 | £192,684 | 10.5% |
| West Dunbartonshire | £117,474 | £108,227 | 8.5% |
| West Lothian | £175,742 | £161,406 | 8.9% |
| Scotland | £162,983 | £150,287 | 8.4% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
Average price by local authority for Scotland
In December 2020, the most expensive area to purchase a property was City of Edinburgh, where the average cost was £289,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Inverclyde, where the average cost was £108,000.
3.2 Average price change by property type
Average price change by property type for Scotland
| Property type | December 2020 | December 2019 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £285,415 | £259,736 | 9.9% |
| Semi-detached | £169,991 | £157,001 | 8.3% |
| Terraced | £136,679 | £125,503 | 8.9% |
| Flat or maisonette | £115,600 | £107,756 | 7.3% |
| All | £162,983 | £150,287 | 8.4% |
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
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 2 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 | October 2020 | October 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Aberdeenshire | 514 | 311 |
| Angus | 265 | 194 |
| Argyll and Bute | 251 | 211 |
| City of Aberdeen | 431 | 347 |
| City of Dundee | 313 | 222 |
| City of Edinburgh | 1,189 | 943 |
| City of Glasgow | 1,333 | 1,101 |
| Clackmannanshire | 107 | 89 |
| Dumfries and Galloway | 301 | 251 |
| East Ayrshire | 230 | 221 |
| East Dunbartonshire | 240 | 211 |
| East Lothian | 313 | 207 |
| East Renfrewshire | 243 | 181 |
| Falkirk | 331 | 296 |
| Fife | 918 | 630 |
| Highland | 492 | 431 |
| Inverclyde | 197 | 109 |
| Midlothian | 234 | 175 |
| Moray | 206 | 140 |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | 32 | 30 |
| North Ayrshire | 322 | 230 |
| North Lanarkshire | 602 | 540 |
| Orkney Islands | 40 | 34 |
| Perth and Kinross | 373 | 306 |
| Renfrewshire | 493 | 370 |
| Scottish Borders | 289 | 186 |
| Shetland Islands | 31 | 28 |
| South Ayrshire | 346 | 243 |
| South Lanarkshire | 784 | 654 |
| Stirling | 215 | 179 |
| West Dunbartonshire | 199 | 128 |
| West Lothian | 371 | 258 |
| Scotland | 12,205 | 9,456 |
Note: The number of property transactions for October 2020 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.
Comparing the provisional volume estimate for October 2019 with the provisional estimate for October 2020, volume transactions increased by 31.9% 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 increased by 36.1% in Scotland in the year to October 2020.
Download this table’s data (CSV, 1KB)
4.2 Sales volumes
Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years
| Date | Sales volumes for Scotland |
|---|---|
| October 2016 | 8,503 |
| October 2017 | 9,047 |
| October 2018 | 9,127 |
| October 2019 | 9,456 |
| October 2020 | 12,205 |
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
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 2 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 October 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| New build | £230,033 | 0.7% | 7.2% |
| Existing resold property | £160,975 | 1.9% | 6.4% |
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
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 December 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First time buyer | £131,034 | -1.5% | 7.8% |
| Former owner occupier | £196,556 | -0.8% | 9.2% |
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
7. Funding status
Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland
| Funding status | Average price December 2020 | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | £150,120 | -1.3% | 8.5% |
| Mortgage | £168,961 | -1.1% | 8.4% |
Download this chart’s data (CSV, 1KB)
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