National statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: July 2018

Published 19 September 2018

Applies to Scotland

1. Headline statistics in July 2018

the average price of a property in Scotland was

£152,245

the annual price change of a property in Scotland was

3.2%

the monthly price change of a property in Scotland was

1.4%

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

112.8

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 August 2018 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 October 2018. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

Scotland house prices grew by 3.2% in the year to July 2018, down from 4.5% in the year to June 2018. Scotland house prices are growing slightly quicker than the UK annual rate of 3.1% in the year to July 2018. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland decreased by 0.1% between June 2018 and July 2018, compared with an increase of 0.5% during the same period a year earlier (June 2017 and July 2017).

The UK Property Transaction Statistics for July 2018 showed that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in the 3 months to July 2018, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater in Scotland was 28,060. This is down 1.8% compared to the 3 months to July 2017.

In Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in July 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced houses showed the biggest increase, rising by 4.1% in the year to July 2018 to £126,000. The average price of detached houses showed an increase of 2.6% in the year to July 2018 to £260,000, the smallest increase of all property types.

House prices increased over the last year in 29 out of 32 local authority areas. The biggest price increases were in West Dunbartonshire and West Lothian, where prices increased by 12.7% to £109,000, and 10.8% to £160,000, in the year to July 2018. The largest decreases were recorded in City of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where average prices fell over the year by 4.4% to £159,000 and 3.7% to £189,000 respectively.

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 3.2% in the year to July 2018 (down from 4.5% in the year to June 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 July 2018 July 2017 Difference
Aberdeenshire £188,835 £196,051 -3.7%
Angus £147,596 £145,669 1.3%
Argyll and Bute £141,920 £134,835 5.3%
City of Aberdeen £159,328 £166,711 -4.4%
City of Dundee £125,599 £119,847 4.8%
City of Edinburgh £254,170 £239,016 6.3%
City of Glasgow £132,454 £124,111 6.7%
Clackmannanshire £125,002 £121,260 3.1%
Dumfries and Galloway £124,590 £123,666 0.7%
East Ayrshire £95,325 £97,540 -2.3%
East Dunbartonshire £212,697 £203,359 4.6%
East Lothian £222,873 £208,880 6.7%
East Renfrewshire £225,225 £219,066 2.8%
Falkirk £121,581 £115,595 5.2%
Fife £134,707 £128,742 4.6%
Highland £160,783 £157,171 2.3%
Inverclyde £107,863 £104,054 3.7%
Midlothian £180,980 £164,923 9.7%
Moray £151,219 £147,932 2.2%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £105,213 £95,968 9.6%
North Ayrshire £107,363 £102,533 4.7%
North Lanarkshire £108,169 £102,676 5.4%
Orkney Islands £142,419 £131,954 7.9%
Perth and Kinross £184,115 £181,178 1.6%
Renfrewshire £125,675 £120,341 4.4%
Scottish Borders £153,141 £151,953 0.8%
Shetland Islands £174,997 £161,645 8.3%
South Ayrshire £140,863 £132,713 6.1%
South Lanarkshire £128,892 £121,892 5.7%
Stirling £180,889 £175,328 3.2%
West Dunbartonshire £109,076 £96,799 12.7%
West Lothian £160,075 £144,483 10.8%
Scotland £152,245 £147,566 3.2%

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 July 2018, the most expensive area to live in was City of Edinburgh, where the cost of an average house was £254,000. 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 July 2018 July 2017 Difference
Detached £260,221 £253,541 2.6%
Semi-detached £156,903 £152,253 3.1%
Terraced £126,061 £121,069 4.1%
Flat or maisonette £111,344 £108,046 3.1%
All £152,245 £147,566 3.2%

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 May 2018 May 2017 Difference
Aberdeenshire 308 315 -2.2%
Angus 158 178 -11.2%
Argyll and Bute 124 141 -12.1%
City of Aberdeen 339 344 -1.5%
City of Dundee 202 203 -0.5%
City of Edinburgh 881 1,125 -21.7%
City of Glasgow 940 924 1.7%
Clackmannanshire 82 65 26.2%
Dumfries and Galloway 193 192 0.5%
East Ayrshire 173 215 -19.5%
East Dunbartonshire 147 155 -5.2%
East Lothian 173 189 -8.5%
East Renfrewshire 133 158 -15.8%
Falkirk 233 236 -1.3%
Fife 535 589 -9.2%
Highland 350 403 -13.2%
Inverclyde 101 94 7.4%
Midlothian 138 140 -1.4%
Moray 154 161 -4.3%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 38 27 40.7%
North Ayrshire 176 183 -3.8%
North Lanarkshire 422 408 3.4%
Orkney Islands 27 39 -30.8%
Perth and Kinross 245 272 -9.9%
Renfrewshire 311 348 -10.6%
Scottish Borders 165 165 0.0%
Shetland Islands 20 27 -25.9%
South Ayrshire 165 183 -9.8%
South Lanarkshire 531 523 1.5%
Stirling 157 126 24.6%
West Dunbartonshire 113 122 -7.4%
West Lothian 259 279 -7.2%
Scotland 7,993 8,529 -6.3%

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
May 2014 8,925
May 2015 8,569
May 2016 7,248
May 2017 8,529
May 2018 7,993

5. Property status

New build and existing resold property for Scotland

Property status Average price May 2018 Monthly change Annual change
New build £206,600 0.8% 7.8%
Existing resold property £146,944 0.5% 4.8%

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 July 2018 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £123,859 1.3% 3.5%
Former owner occupier £181,149 1.6% 2.8%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price July 2018 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £140,862 1.7% 2.9%
Mortgage £157,509 1.3% 3.3%

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