Scottish house sales up 8.1% on last year

The volume of houses sold in Scotland between April and June increased by 8.1% compared with a year ago, according to official figures.

However prices fell by an average of 0.3% during the same time.

Residential properties had an average price tag of £148,174 in the first three months of 2013.

The Registers of Scotland Quarterly House Price Statistical Report covers all residential sales including those that did not involve a mortgage.

Three local authority areas in Scotland had average values of above £200,000; Edinburgh City, East Dunbartonshire and East Renfrewshire, which had the costliest average price in Scotland at £212,129. Midlothian saw the largest year on year rise in prices, with homes there selling for 9% more than the same period in 2012.

Glasgow had the largest number of properties sold in the first three months of the year, with 1,666. Volumes also increased in Edinburgh as 1,639 properties changed hands in the capital, where the total sales topped £335 million making it the largest market in Scotland.

‘It is encouraging to see a rise in volumes and while the average price has fallen, it is not a substantial drop,’ said Registers of Scotland’s director of commercial services, Kenny Crawford.

‘We are seeing some interesting figures from areas like Midlothian, where the volumes and average price have both increased. There’ve been a number of new developments in areas like Dalkeith and Gorebridge, which are likely to be contributing to this upward trend. Work has also recently begun on the new Borders Railway Project, which may also be having an impact on the local housing market,’ he explained.

East Ayrshire has shown the largest percentage fall in terms of number of properties sold as 9.4% fewer homes changed hands compared to the same period last year. Prices there also dropped, as they did in Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire.
‘As ever, the picture is variable from one local authority area to the next, as reflected in our detailed statistics,’ added Crawford.