Scotland and the North lead the prime property rally

This is according to the latest Prime Index from property website PrimeLocation.com which shows that prices in these regions have all increased by more than 6% since January.

Scotland has been the best performing region, with the average prime property gaining over £25,000, which equates to over £3,000 a month. Asking prices in the region rose by 6.8% to take the typical asking price to £410,530.

Behind Scotland, the North West and the North East were the second fastest rising regions, where asking prices for prime properties have increased by 6.1%. In the North West, this translates to a gain of £20,341, and a current asking price of £355,248, while in the North East the average prime asking price is £323,333, representing an increase of £18,523.

Across the UK, asking prices for prime property have increased by an average of £15,934 over the first eight months of the year, translating into a monthly gain of almost £2,000 per month. The average prime property has gained 3.5% in value, and currently has an asking price of £470,210. For comparison, the average asking price across all UK properties is currently £220,362, some 2.0% higher than at the start of the year.

Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation.com said: “As is usually the case, asking prices in the prime market have pulled further ahead of the general UK property market. Asking prices for prime properties have increased in every single UK region, and have increased faster than the general market in all but one.

“The difference between the general and Prime properties markets in the North East is particularly remarkable; while asking prices in the region have increased by a healthy 2.9%, overall the prime market has rocketed ahead at 6.1% over the same period.”