By Average house prices in Scotland have continued to rise over the last year despite predictions that interest rates would cause them to fall according to a leading property firm.
DJ Alexander Ltd, the largest estate and letting agents in Scotland and part of the Lomond Group, said that average house prices in Scotland have risen by 1.57% between June 2022 and May 2023 (the latest period for which there is data) and recorded substantial variations across the country
Edinburgh had the largest increase among Scotland’s main cities over the year rising by 3.35% with May’s figure of £334,118 the second highest ever recorded.
Aberdeen average prices rose by 0.81% while Glasgow was down 1.68% and Dundee fell 3.59% over the year.
There have been enormous regional variations within Scotland with East Lothian having the highest increase of 16.31% over the year; Inverclyde was up 4.96%; and North Lanarkshire rose 1.66%.
Within different property types there has been an enormous range of increase in values with detached homes substantially outperforming the rest of the market.
Again, East Lothian is far ahead of the rest of the country with the average price of a detached home rising by £95,678 which is an 18.03% increase in 12 months.
David Alexander, chief executive of DJ Alexander Ltd, comments:
“We can see that house prices in Scotland appear to be holding up well.
As interest rates started to rise over the last year average prices began to dip but we have seen a recovery from those falls and now see positive price rises across many geographic areas and differing property types.
The detached home market remains king at the moment and is the gold standard in buyers’ eyes.
People want outside space and, while this was a trend which began during the pandemic lockdown it is showing no sign of abating.
It is perfectly legitimate to question just how long prices can continue to rise but the appetite for homebuying is not slowing down in most parts of Scotland and, indeed, in places like Edinburgh and East Lothian we appear to be experiencing something of a boom once more.
You would think it can’t last but central belt areas, and Edinburgh in particular, do attract buyers from across the UK and internationally so many of these people will be able to give strong offers despite wider economic woes.
There remains a strong desire to buy in Scotland which is producing a buoyant market.
Home ownership remains a positive aspiration which many are happy to pay a premium for.
Whether this continues in the face of rising interest rates remains to be seen but at the moment Scotland appears to be embracing home ownership in a very optimistic way, David concluded.”
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