House prices only take slight dip in Scotland for October: Your Move

 The rate of annual growth also fell, with prices at the end of October 3.5% higher than a year before, against 4.4% last month.

Annual growth in Scotland remains stronger than most other UK regions, however. It’s well above the average for England and Wales as a whole in October, which stood at just 1.3%, and only the South West of England has grown faster (up 4.3% annually). At £175,722 the average price in Scotland is almost £6,000 higher than a year ago.

Both Scotland’s affordability ratio and annual price growth benefit from a capital city market that continues to be strong. Annual growth in Edinburgh, at 3.4%, is close to the national trend, in contrast to the price falls seen in London that pull the average down for England and Wales. Prices in Scotland’s first city, at an average of £258,426, also remain much closer to the rest of the UK, being only slightly less than 50% of London prices, which are closer to double the average in England and Wales.

Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, said:

“Despite a slowdown in annual growth, both the strength and consistency of the Scottish market continue to be impressive. With demand strong and property still affordable, Scotland looks like it will finish 2017 in good shape.”

Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, part of the LSL group of companies, said:

“So far Scotland’s shrugged off the malaise that’s affected many other UK regions. With unemployment edging up and the rate of growth slowing, though, the impact of the provisions in December’s draft budget will be critical in determining whether that continues.”