The latest publication of the monthly UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that the average price of a property in Scotland in May 2018 was £149,004 – an increase of 4.9% on May in the previous year and an increase of 0.1% when compared to the previous month. This compares to a UK average of £226,351, which was an increase of 3.0% on May in the previous year and an increase of 0.1% when compared to the previous month.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in March 2018 was 7,861 – a decrease of 16.1% on March 2017. This compares with annual decreases in sales volumes of 21.8% in England and 13.8% in Wales in March 2018, and 12.4% in Northern Ireland in Quarter 1 - 2018.

Registers of Scotland business development and information director, Kenny Crawford, said: “Average prices in Scotland continued their upward trend in May with an increase of 4.9% when compared to May 2017. Average prices have been increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

“Residential sales volumes decreased in March. The annual decrease of 16.1% when compared with March 2017 in Scotland is in the context of large decreases across the rest of the UK. The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date – from April 2017 to March 2018 – was 100,566. This is an increase of 3.1% on the equivalent year to date position in the previous financial year 2016/17.”

Average price increases were recorded in the vast majority (26) of local authorities in May 2018, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in West Dunbartonshire, City of Edinburgh and East Renfrewshire, where average prices increased by 12.9% to £104,989, 9.9% to £251,371 and 9.3% to £225,310 respectively. The largest decrease was recorded in Aberdeenshire where prices fell by 3.7% to £190,115. Decreases were also seen in Angus, City of Aberdeen, Inverclyde and Perth & Kinross, with average prices falling by 0.7%, 3.0%, 3.3% and 1.9% respectively.

Increases in sales volumes were recorded in just three local authorities in March 2018, when comparing volumes with the previous year. The biggest increases were in Highland and West Dunbartonshire, where volumes increased by 3.9% to 395 sales and 2.6% to 118 sales respectively. The biggest decreases were in Aberdeenshire and East Ayrshire, where volumes fell by 29.7% to 289 sales and 26.5% to 158 sales respectively.

Across Scotland, all property types showed an increase in average price in May 2018 when compared with the same month in the previous year. Terraced properties showed the biggest increase, rising by 5.6% to £123,277, while flatted properties increased by 4.6% to £108,414, detached properties increased by 4.7% to £255,133, and semi-detached properties increased by 4.8% to £154,921.

The average price in May 2018 for a property purchased by a first time buyer was £121,183 – an increase of 5.0% compared to the same month in the previous year. The average price for a property purchased by a former owner occupier was £177,349 – an increase of 4.7% on the previous year.

The average price for a cash sale was £137,790 – an increase of 4.8% on the previous year – while the average price for property purchased with a mortgage was £154,195 – an increase of 4.9% on the previous year.