National statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: September 2018

Published 14 November 2018

Applies to Scotland

1. Headline statistics in September 2018

the average price of a property in Scotland was

£152,961

the annual price change of a property in Scotland was

5.8%

the monthly price change of a property in Scotland was

-0.1%

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

113.3

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 October 2018 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 19 December 2018. See the calendar of release dates.

2. Economic statement

Scotland house prices grew by 5.8% in the year to September 2018, up from 4.0% in the year to August 2018. Scotland house prices were growing quicker than the UK annual rate of 3.5% in the year to September 2018. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Scotland fell by 0.1% between August 2018 and September 2018, compared with a decrease of 1.8% during the same period a year earlier. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.6% between August 2018 and September 2018.

The UK Property Transaction Statistics for September 2018 showed that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, in the 3 months to September 2018, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater in Scotland was 24,920. This is down 11.9% compared to the 3 months to September 2017.

In Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in September 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Semi-detached showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.1% in the year to September 2018 to £160,000. The smallest increase of all property types was flats and maisonettes, with an increase of 4.2% in the year to September 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 West Dunbartonshire, where prices increased in the year to September 2018 by 11.9% to £110,000. The largest decrease was recorded in City of Aberdeen, where average prices fell over the year by 4.4% to £161,000.

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 5.8% in the year to September 2018 (up from 4.0% in the year to August 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 September 2018 September 2017 Difference
Aberdeenshire £190,663 £193,689 -1.6%
Angus £150,183 £143,872 4.4%
Argyll and Bute £142,919 £137,510 3.9%
City of Aberdeen £161,439 £168,928 -4.4%
City of Dundee £127,228 £123,450 3.1%
City of Edinburgh £264,745 £245,796 7.7%
City of Glasgow £137,507 £124,529 10.4%
Clackmannanshire £127,631 £125,461 1.7%
Dumfries and Galloway £133,142 £129,549 2.8%
East Ayrshire £98,104 £99,974 -1.9%
East Dunbartonshire £217,514 £199,520 9.0%
East Lothian £225,587 £221,466 1.9%
East Renfrewshire £226,962 £220,966 2.7%
Falkirk £121,372 £116,063 4.6%
Fife £134,759 £132,985 1.3%
Highland £162,815 £156,189 4.2%
Inverclyde £106,805 £102,150 4.6%
Midlothian £185,497 £171,266 8.3%
Moray £148,712 £147,087 1.1%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £118,361 £109,106 8.5%
North Ayrshire £106,163 £104,605 1.5%
North Lanarkshire £109,675 £100,722 8.9%
Orkney Islands £147,099 £131,707 11.7%
Perth and Kinross £192,406 £182,640 5.3%
Renfrewshire £122,444 £120,811 1.4%
Scottish Borders £151,200 £155,335 -2.7%
Shetland Islands £150,111 £150,473 -0.2%
South Ayrshire £138,568 £132,799 4.3%
South Lanarkshire £128,618 £124,889 3.0%
Stirling £184,277 £177,445 3.9%
West Dunbartonshire £109,828 £98,192 11.9%
West Lothian £159,795 £152,335 4.9%
Scotland £152,961 £144,530 5.8%

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 September 2018, the most expensive area to live in was City of Edinburgh, where the cost of an average house was £265,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was East Ayrshire, where an average house cost £98,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type September 2018 September 2017 Difference
Detached £266,227 £249,563 6.7%
Semi-detached £159,933 £149,379 7.1%
Terraced £127,534 £119,537 6.7%
Flat or maisonette £109,209 £104,837 4.2%
All £152,961 £144,530 5.8%

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 July 2018 July 2017 Difference
Aberdeenshire 355 343 3.5%
Angus 193 184 4.9%
Argyll and Bute 153 187 -18.2%
City of Aberdeen 330 295 11.9%
City of Dundee 234 217 7.8%
City of Edinburgh 935 1,187 -21.2%
City of Glasgow 1,048 1,039 0.9%
Clackmannanshire 108 68 58.8%
Dumfries and Galloway 213 209 1.9%
East Ayrshire 162 196 -17.3%
East Dunbartonshire 165 172 -4.1%
East Lothian 186 198 -6.1%
East Renfrewshire 152 167 -9.0%
Falkirk 278 259 7.3%
Fife 633 625 1.3%
Highland 349 409 -14.7%
Inverclyde 103 92 12.0%
Midlothian 134 155 -13.5%
Moray 164 174 -5.7%
Na h-Eileanan Siar 29 39 -25.6%
North Ayrshire 224 177 26.6%
North Lanarkshire 480 448 7.1%
Orkney Islands 26 39 -33.3%
Perth and Kinross 284 281 1.1%
Renfrewshire 301 293 2.7%
Scottish Borders 199 165 20.6%
Shetland Islands 26 38 -31.6%
South Ayrshire 260 187 39.0%
South Lanarkshire 556 521 6.7%
Stirling 131 170 -22.9%
West Dunbartonshire 102 116 -12.1%
West Lothian 257 293 -12.3%
Scotland 8,770 8,943 -1.9%

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
July 2014 8,149
July 2015 10,021
July 2016 9,249
July 2017 8,943
July 2018 8,770

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 July 2018 Monthly change Annual change
New build £210,121 3.2% 6.0%
Existing resold property £150,184 1.3% 3.1%

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 September 2018 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £123,547 -0.5% 5.5%
Former owner occupier £183,512 0.3% 6.2%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price September 2018 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £140,476 -0.5% 5.2%
Mortgage £158,785 0.1% 6.1%

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