Legal news

Rise in Scotland’s property prices

Official statistics issued by Registers of Scotland (RoS) show the average price of a residential property in Scotland increased between October and December 2009 by 1.3% compared to the same period in 2008. This brings the average property price to £155,618.

The number of sales transactions registered across Scotland from October to December 2009, increased by 11.7% over the same quarter in 2008 with 21,498 sales registered compared to 19,240 in the previous year. This is an increase of 7% over the previous quarter (August to September) of 2009, says RoS.

The average property price increased over the year in 17 of the 32 local authority areas. Across Scotland, flats showed the largest average property price increase at 4.9% while detached properties showed the largest decrease of 1% when compared with the same period in 2008.

The total value of sales registered across Scotland during this latest quarter (October to December) was just over £3.34 billion, an increase of 13.2% over the same quarter last year. The City of Edinburgh is the largest market with sales of just over £444 million for the quarter, an increase of 13.2% over the same quarter in 2008.

These figures cover all residential sales, including sales not involving a mortgage.

“Our house price figures are now classified as official statistics," said Sheenagh Adams, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. "RoS is the only organisation that holds the full picture on what’s happening in the property market as we register every sale and property transfer in Scotland."

“This is the first annual increase in the average property price for Scotland since the period July to September 2008," she said. "This latest quarter also sees volumes increasing annually for the first time since the period April to June 2007.”