"For Scottish sellers, now remains as good a time as any to enter the market and while it may take a little while longer to secure a buyer, the chances of securing a good price when you do are still high"
Research by estate agents, Nested, analysed transaction levels and house price growth across each area of Scotland to reveal how the Scottish market is fairing on an annual basis.
Much like the rest of the UK, the Scottish market has begun to cool following the pandemic market boom. In fact, over the last 12 months, 100,536 homes have sold across the country, a 7% drop versus the 12 previous 12 months.
The Western Isles has seen the largest decline in market activity, with transaction levels falling by -28% over the last year. There has been a decline of -21% across the Orkney Islands, while Inverclyde (-20%), Angus (-19%) and Aberdeenshire (-17%) have also seen some of the highest reductions in market activity.
However, East Lothian (+4%), Stirling (+2%), East Dunbartonshire (+2%), Midlothian (+1%) and East Renfrewshire (+0.1%) have all registered positive movement.
But despite a largely cooling market, some areas of Scotland are continuing to post strong rates of house price growth on an annual basis, with East Lothian again ranking top.
While house prices across Scotland as a whole have climbed by just 3% since this time last year, the average property in East Lothian has seen a 16% increase in value.
Despite seeing one of the largest reductions in market activity levels, the average house price across Inverclyde is up by 12% annually, while Renfrewshire has seen an 8% uplift.
House prices are also up by 5% or more in the last year across Perth and Kinross (+6%), West Lothian (+6%), Fife (+5%) and Edinburgh (+5%).
Andy Reid, Nested’s Regional Partner for Scotland, commented: “The Scottish market has performed extremely well during the pandemic but it seems that every inch of the UK property market is currently feeling the effects of high inflation and increasing interest rates, as buyer hesitations are causing a reduction in market activity.
"While a drop in demand will inevitably bring a house price correction, it seems as though many areas of the Scottish market have so far remained impervious and, in fact, continue to register very strong rates of house price growth.
"So for Scottish sellers, now remains as good a time as any to enter the market and while it may take a little while longer to secure a buyer, the chances of securing a good price when you do are still high.”
