Property News

House Price Growth to Slow in Scotland: Transactions Take a Tumble

Em Morley - August 20, 2018

As values are declining on a monthly basis, so is the growth of annual house prices in Scotland.

The latest House Price Index provided by Your Move, reveals that average prices north of the border have plummeted by 0.7% on a monthly basis during June, the second month of falls.

Annual growth slowed for the third consecutive month, down from 6.7%in March to 5.7%in April and now, 4.4% in June.

This meant that average prices were set at £182, 163 for June, while the annual growth rate is back down to the equal level seen in December last year.

The agent also disclosed that transactions in the first quarter of 2018 in Scotland were down 11% annually.

The blame for this slug was received by Edinburgh, where the Scottish capital has the highest average prices, however, has experienced the fall in prices over the past 2 months, down 1% in June.

Scottish price growth remains ahead of England and Wales, where average values are up just 1.7% annually.

Managing Director of Your Move in Scotland, Christine Campbell, said: “The market in Scotland has noticeably slowed as we’ve gone into the summer yet it still shows some strong annual growth, and it’s encouraging to see almost all areas showing positive performance.”

According to the headline statistics in the recent UK House Price Index Scotland: April 2018, the average price of a property in Scotland was recorded to be £148,952. Annually, the price change of a property in Scotland was 5.6% and monthly, 2.5%.

Simon Rubinsohn, RIC’s Chief Economist, commented: “The scale of the challenge the UK government faces as it announces its new approach to housing is clearly demonstrated in the results from our latest survey.

“Not only are the headline price and rent series pointing to further increases over the course of this year, but more significantly, the medium term view of RIC’s professionals working up and down the country is that both house prices and rents will, over the medium term, continue to grow at a faster pace than wages putting even greater pressure on affordability.

“Whether the measures announced can ease this trend remains to be seen.”