House sales up 18.2 per cent

The volume of residential property sales rose 18.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015-16 compared to the same period last year, according to official statistics published today by Registers of Scotland.

A total of 19,802 properties changed hands between January and March, the highest volume of sales for these months since 2007-08.

RoS’ director of commercial services, Kenny Crawford, said: “We’ve seen a sustained increase in the volume of sales throughout the 2015-16 financial year. While volumes are up this quarter, prices are down by 8.4 per cent compared to the previous year, bringing the average price to £159,198.

“This time last year, we saw a spike in house prices, with an increase in the number of high value property sales. By comparison, this year has seen an increase in the volume of lower value properties being sold, which may account for this year’s lower average price. Future sales statistics will determine whether this is a one-off decrease, or whether this is a trend that will continue.”

The total value of sales across Scotland increased by 8.3 per cent compared to the previous year to just over £3.15 billion. The City of Edinburgh was the largest market, with sales of over £554.6 million for the quarter, up 3.3 per cent.

Midlothian recorded the highest increase in value, with sales of over £63 million, an increase of 56.5 per cent compared with the same quarter last year. Aberdeen showed the largest decrease in market value, down 22.7 per cent to £162.7 million.

The highest percentage rise in the volume of sales was in Midlothian, with an annual increase of 48 per cent to 333 residential sales. Edinburgh recorded the highest volume at 2,507, up 22.4 per cent compared to the same quarter the previous year. The largest percentage fall in volume of sales was in East Renfrewshire, down 14.5 per cent to 288.

East Renfrewshire recorded the highest average property price at £222,303, down 7.9 per cent on last year. The largest percentage rise was seen in North Lanarkshire, where the average property price rose 6.6 per cent to £116,738. The highest percentage fall was recorded in East Lothian, with an average price of £207,276, a fall of 16.5 per cent on last year.

All property types showed an increase in sales volumes, with flats showing the biggest increase at 24.2 per cent. They also all showed a decrease in average price this quarter, with detached properties showing the biggest decrease, down 11.6 per cent to £236,249. Semi-detached, terraced, and flatted properties showed price decreases of 8.5 per cent, 10.5 per cent, and 7.4 per cent respectively.

These statistics cover all residential sales, including those that did not involve a mortgage.

Following the release of Registers of Scotland’s quarterly report, released today, please find a statement from ESPC.

Maria Both-Lopez, business analyst for ESPC said: “Like Registers of Scotland, we saw a similar drop in average property prices in the first three months of 2016. The average property price in east central Scotland is now 10.5 per cent less than it was during the same period last year and average property prices for the City of Edinburgh as a whole have decreased by 10.9 per cent.

“East Lothian and West Lothian have also experienced significant decreases in average property prices. It should be kept in mind that ESPC data mostly covers existing properties rather than new build, so our statistics focus on the existing property market, whereas ROS data includes both.

“These fluctuations in price can be attributed to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) introduced in April 2015. Average selling prices in the first quarter of 2015 were driven up by larger than normal volumes of high-end properties, with people wishing to buy before the new tax rates came into place.”

She added: “While the revenue from LBTT failed to reach forecasts for residential sales in the 2015/2016 financial year, this shortfall was covered by commercial sales, which raised higher than expected revenue. For the first quarter of 2016 38 per cent of sales recorded through ESPC would not have generated any LBTT revenue because they were under £145,000. What we don’t know is how many of those sales would have incurred the 3 per cent supplement of second homes. This may help the government achieve its revenue neutral goal by raising the same amount of revenue as Stamp Duty.”