The latest UK House Price Index has been published and shows that the average value of property is continuing to increase across Scotland. It’s not just values that are increasing though.
Soaring buyer competition
The beginning of the year came with a rather bad weather spell, and, in particular, the infamous “Beast from the East” caused severe disruption across the UK, which forced many homeowners to put their selling plans on hold until more clement conditions arrived. Now that spring is (almost) here and the days are starting to get warmer, brighter and longer, we expect to see many more properties coming to the market across Scotland, very much to the delight of the many buyers who have been looking for their dream homes since early January.
Buyers are currently competing on the available albeit insufficient stock creating opportunity for many closing dates and record sales.
With that in mind, here are some of the key findings of the latest UK House Price Index for January 2018.
Scottish property prices continue to rise the fastest
The index shows Scottish property prices are continuing to rise the fastest when compared to average rates across the rest of the UK. 28 local authorities reported average price increases in the last 12 months. According to the latest figures, the value of property in Scotland increased by 7.3% in January 2018, compared to an increase of 1.4% in the same month of last year.
The largest increase in prices is East Lothian, where the average value of a property is up 13.9% to £219,393, and West Lothian, where it is up 13.3% to £156,149, compared to the same month in 2017.
All types of properties show an increase in value
The price increase wasn’t just confined to a particular type of property according to the figures from the index. Perhaps unsurprisingly, detached properties experienced the biggest increase in value, up 8.6% to £261,291. Flats however experienced a decent growth of 5.6% too, proving that the increase in value across Scotland seems to be spread broadly across the market.
As well as prices increasing, there are also an increasing number of sales across Scotland. The index highlights a cumulative increase of 7.9% in the number of properties coming to the market for the financial year to date.
West Dunbartonshire experienced a 27.8% increase in sales compared to January 2017, while East Ayrshire was up 22.2%.
If you are thinking of selling this spring, speak to your local Clyde Property branch today.
Clyde Property is a leading independent, multiple award winning estate and letting agent with more than 30 years’ experience in selling and letting property in Scotland. Just call your local Clyde Property branch today, for friendly, impartial advice on finding your next dream home.
