Scottish house prices up 11.2%

Scottish property prices rose by 11.2% on average in the year to March, according to Walker Fraser Steele’s Scotland House Price Index.

Month-on-month, Scottish house prices rose by 1.9%, to reach £207,083.

Prices in the Orkney Islands rose by the greatest margin, up 25.7% year-on-year and7.2% month-on-month.

All 32 local authority areas have seen prices rise over the last 12 months, with the average property rising by £20,800.

Transactions in Q1 2021 were 19% higher than Q1 2020.

Alan Penman, business development manager at Walker Fraser Steele, said: “The Scottish housing market is showing that even in a pandemic it can turn in the kind of performance that makes other asset groups pale in comparison.

“Our survey shows that the average house price in Scotland at the end of March 2021 stands at £207,083. This is £20,800, or 11.2%, higher than at the end of March 2020.

“Scotland’s annual rate of house price growth has reached double digits for the first time since December 2007 and, in March 2021, all 32 of the local authority areas in Scotland have seen an increase in prices over the last 12 months.

“The Scottish residential market has thrived during the pandemic, and the outlook has been a brighter one for prices since the beginning of the year.

“Low interest rates and pent-up demand have helped demand but the growth we see here is in some part due to the speed of the vaccination programme and the relaxing of social distancing measures on both sides of the border.

"The market has benefitted too from government support for jobs.

“It’s important to remember though that while 11.2% might ordinarily be considered extremely high, by comparison to the other regions in Great Britain, Scotland would be ranked eighth in terms of growth, which says a lot about the general strength of demand across the entire UK.”