Average house price in Scotland rises to record level

What factors influenced this price growth?

Average house price in Scotland rises to record level

Average house prices in Scotland rose by 6.7% over the 12 months to October 2022, and increased by 0.3% compared with the previous month.

The latest Walker Fraser Steele Acadata House Price Index has revealed that the average house price in Scotland was a record £224,593 in October, increasing from £223,892 in September. Year-on-year, prices have risen by some £14,100.

“The housing market across the UK has endured a tumultuous time over the past couple of months and yet – notwithstanding the stresses it has been under – our data reveals that average house price in Scotland in October rose by some £700 (from September),” Scott Jack, regional development director at Walker Fraser Steele, commented. 

“We think two things have influenced this figure. Firstly, the lack of supply of the right kind of properties, those with more space for working and living from home, persists which supports the average price in general. This continued demand has, to a degree, provided some protection from the more challenging economic turmoil in September.

“But there is another factor to consider. Current buyers who secured finance before the financial markets’ turbulence in September stayed the course to see through their purchases. Our sales data from the property purchases recorded by the Office for National Statistics uses the date that a purchaser takes ownership – so decisions to buy made in August and early September, for example, may be coming through in October.

Jack pointed out that these two elements together have supported demand for properties, leading to the average house price in Scotland rising to a new record level.

John Tindale, senior housing analyst at Acadata, added that sales of high-value properties in the first 10 months of 2022 are at a record high, with few indications that the pace of such sales is diminishing.

The three highest-value local authorities in Scotland – Edinburgh, East Lothian, and East Renfrewshire – each set a new record average house price in October too.