"Setting a new peak average price at a time when many parts of the UK are struggling to maintain prices is a significant show of strength from the Scottish market. "
Prices were up 1% in the month, increasing by more than £1,850 to £184,569 to hit a new record high, above even the March 2015 peak set by the spike in prices immediately ahead of the introduction of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
Annual price growth in Scotland also ramped up in October, rising from 4.4% to 5.5%, its highest rate since April and five times the average price growth seen in England and Wales.
Unlike the surge in 2015, which was the result of purchasers of high value properties rushing to buy ahead of the introduction of the LBTT, there are no special circumstances to explain the new peak average price in Scotland. The number of sales of high priced properties (above £750,000) in Edinburgh in October was about average – 24, against 22 in the same month last year, and below the 31 in 2016.
Instead, Your Move says the rise is the result of a gradual increase over the last three years, and, most recently, a turnaround that has seen a return to monthly increases after falling prices during the summer.
The rise is also broad-based, with increasing prices across Scotland. This includes the big cities of Edinburgh – where prices were up 1.7% in October and 10.1% annually - and Glasgow, which set a new peak average price of £164,689 in the month, and where prices have increased 9.1% on an annual basis.
The highest growth was seen in Clackmannanshire, with prices up 3% in the month and 11.9% annually, and Na h-Eileanan Siar, still the cheapest area in Scotland despite prices up 12% in the last year.
Despite the growth, Your Move warns that the market is not entirely immune to Brexit uncertainty. While much of the increase in prices is supported by low mortgage rates, good wage growth and high employment, it is also due to short supply. Buyer demand is strong, but uncertainty means sellers are in no hurry to put their properties on the market.
Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, said: “Setting a new peak average price at a time when many parts of the UK are struggling to maintain prices is a significant show of strength from the Scottish market. Scotland continues to defy the pessimists.”
