National statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: September 2019

Published 13 November 2019

Applies to Scotland

1. Headline statistics for September 2019

the average price of a property in Scotland was

£155,029

the annual price change of a property in Scotland was

2.4%

the monthly price change of a property in Scotland was

0.3%

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

114.9

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 2019 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 December 2019. See the calendar of release dates.

Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire local authority boundary change

On 1 April 2019, an area of land was transferred from Glasgow City local authority area to North Lanarkshire. See the Glasgow City Council Area and North Lanarkshire Council Area (Cardowan by Stepps) Boundaries Amendment Order 2018 for more information.

2. Economic statement

Scotland house prices increased by 2.4% in the year to September 2019, up from 1.6% in the year to August 2019. Scotland house prices were growing faster than the UK annual rate of 1.3% in the year to September 2019. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.3% between August 2019 and September 2019, compared with a fall of 0.5% during the same period a year earlier (August 2018 and September 2018). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.8% between August 2019 and September 2019.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2018 with the provisional estimate for July 2019, volume transactions increased by 0.9% in Scotland. UK volume transactions increased by 3.3% over the same period.

In Scotland, flats and maisonettes showed the biggest increase, rising by 3.9% in the year to September 2019 to £114,000. The average price of detached houses grew by 0.4% in the year to September 2019 to £262,000.

House prices increased over the last year in 25 out of 32 local authority areas. The biggest average price increase was Falkirk, where prices increased by 7.5% in the year to September 2019 to £130,000. The biggest fall was recorded in City of Aberdeen, where average prices fell over the year by 7.6% to £148,000.

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

A chart showing the annual price change for Scotland over the past 5 years.

In Scotland, average prices increased by 2.4% in the year to September 2019 (up from 1.6% in the year to August 2019).

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 2019 September 2018 Difference
Aberdeenshire £184,515 £188,187 -2.0%
Angus £151,096 £147,993 2.1%
Argyll and Bute £147,438 £142,202 3.7%
City of Aberdeen £148,021 £160,131 -7.6%
City of Dundee £127,379 £126,815 0.4%
City of Edinburgh £273,028 £261,913 4.2%
City of Glasgow £137,952 £136,499 1.1%
Clackmannanshire £130,940 £127,028 3.1%
Dumfries and Galloway £130,976 £132,471 -1.1%
East Ayrshire £101,042 £96,770 4.4%
East Dunbartonshire £221,547 £214,024 3.5%
East Lothian £231,219 £226,201 2.2%
East Renfrewshire £230,800 £225,842 2.2%
Falkirk £129,803 £120,738 7.5%
Fife £136,747 £134,332 1.8%
Highland £169,244 £162,645 4.1%
Inverclyde £105,984 £107,123 -1.1%
Midlothian £187,531 £184,420 1.7%
Moray £145,701 £149,370 -2.5%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £130,726 £117,740 11.0%
North Ayrshire £108,525 £105,202 3.2%
North Lanarkshire £109,094 £108,170 0.9%
Orkney Islands £153,698 £149,431 2.9%
Perth and Kinross £199,114 £191,648 3.9%
Renfrewshire £126,620 £121,846 3.9%
Scottish Borders £149,273 £151,910 -1.7%
Shetland Islands £169,070 £149,710 12.9%
South Ayrshire £136,010 £137,367 -1.0%
South Lanarkshire £129,643 £126,662 2.4%
Stirling £195,968 £184,133 6.4%
West Dunbartonshire £109,087 £107,752 1.2%
West Lothian £166,342 £159,230 4.5%
Scotland £155,029 £151,446 2.4%

Average price by local authority for Scotland

A heat map showing the average price by local authority for Scotland.

In September 2019, the most expensive area to purchase a property was City of Edinburgh, where the average cost was £273,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was East Ayrshire, where the average cost was £101,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type September 2019 September 2018 Difference
Detached £261,862 £260,757 0.4%
Semi-detached £160,824 £158,050 1.8%
Terraced £128,724 £125,558 2.5%
Flat or maisonette £113,642 £109,411 3.9%
All £155,029 £151,446 2.4%

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 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 July 2019 July 2018
Aberdeenshire 369 360
Angus 189 193
Argyll and Bute 176 156
City of Aberdeen 337 333
City of Dundee 233 239
City of Edinburgh 1,007 950
City of Glasgow 1,027 1,060
Clackmannanshire 98 109
Dumfries and Galloway 234 214
East Ayrshire 155 163
East Dunbartonshire 178 167
East Lothian 174 196
East Renfrewshire 150 153
Falkirk 276 282
Fife 606 640
Highland 401 359
Inverclyde 107 104
Midlothian 160 135
Moray 147 172
Na h-Eileanan Siar 34 30
North Ayrshire 205 229
North Lanarkshire 432 487
Orkney Islands 27 27
Perth and Kinross 266 285
Renfrewshire 326 307
Scottish Borders 195 202
Shetland Islands 20 26
South Ayrshire 212 261
South Lanarkshire 600 559
Stirling 146 132
West Dunbartonshire 134 105
West Lothian 230 264
Scotland 8,851 8,899

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

The estimate for July 2019 is calculated based on around 98% of the final registered transactions in Scotland. The number of property transactions for July 2019 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for July 2018 with the provisional estimate for July 2019, volume transactions increased by 0.9% 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 0.8% in Scotland in the year to July 2019.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
July 2015 10,021
July 2016 9,249
July 2017 8,943
July 2018 8,899
July 2019 8,851

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 2019 Monthly change Annual change
New build £219,398 6.9% 6.5%
Existing resold property £151,488 0.7% 1.2%

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 September 2019 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £126,220 0.6% 2.9%
Former owner occupier £184,246 -0.1% 1.8%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price September 2019 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £143,507 0.7% 2.8%
Mortgage £160,362 0.1% 2.2%

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