House prices are rising at more than £100 a day in parts of Scotland.
The average house price in East Lothian rose by 16% in the year to March, according to latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. That was an increase from £248,479 to £288,178 in a year – meaning, on average, house prices have grown by £39,699 – or the equivalent of £109 a day.
In the City of Edinburgh, prices are up £37,134, or an average of £102 a day. House prices in the area have seen a 13% rise in the year to March, going from £285,721 to £322,855.
There’s also been a 11.9% rise in house prices in East Renfrewshire, or a £29,925 increase over the year (£82 per day). The average home now costs £282,390, compared to £252,465 a year before.
| Area | Price in March 2022 | Price in March 2021 | Annual change | Average per day | % annual change |
| East Lothian | £288,178 | £248,479 | £39,699 | £109 | 16% |
| City of Edinburgh | £322,855 | £285,721 | £37,134 | £102 | 13% |
| East Renfrewshire | £282,390 | £252,465 | £29,925 | £82 | 11.90% |
| Midlothian | £226,996 | £198,736 | £28,260 | £77 | 14.20% |
| Falkirk | £161,602 | £135,538 | £26,064 | £71 | 19.20% |
| Clackmannanshire | £161,115 | £137,723 | £23,392 | £64 | 17% |
| Scottish Borders | £193,061 | £170,338 | £22,723 | £62 | 13.30% |
| Argyll and Bute | £183,707 | £161,182 | £22,525 | £62 | 14% |
| Highland | £202,909 | £181,308 | £21,601 | £59 | 11.90% |
| West Lothian | £195,055 | £173,724 | £21,331 | £58 | 12.30% |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar | £152,593 | £132,675 | £19,918 | £55 | 15% |
| South Lanarkshire | £158,931 | £139,556 | £19,375 | £53 | 13.90% |
| Fife | £166,962 | £147,602 | £19,360 | £53 | 13.10% |
| Orkney Islands | £182,924 | £164,234 | £18,690 | £51 | 11.40% |
| East Dunbartonshire | £253,556 | £235,668 | £17,888 | £49 | 7.60% |
| Moray | £181,221 | £163,780 | £17,441 | £48 | 10.60% |
| East Ayrshire | £122,017 | £105,006 | £17,011 | £47 | 16.20% |
| Perth and Kinross | £231,593 | £214,799 | £16,794 | £46 | 7.80% |
| West Dunbartonshire | £133,734 | £117,752 | £15,982 | £44 | 13.60% |
| Dumfries and Galloway | £158,930 | £143,358 | £15,572 | £43 | 10.90% |
| Aberdeenshire | £199,789 | £184,660 | £15,129 | £41 | 8.20% |
| Stirling | £225,141 | £210,698 | £14,443 | £40 | 6.90% |
| North Lanarkshire | £132,532 | £118,508 | £14,024 | £38 | 11.80% |
| Renfrewshire | £145,804 | £132,922 | £12,882 | £35 | 9.70% |
| South Ayrshire | £162,516 | £150,748 | £11,768 | £32 | 7.80% |
| Glasgow | £164,253 | £152,525 | £11,728 | £32 | 7.70% |
| North Ayrshire | £120,299 | £110,596 | £9,703 | £27 | 8.80% |
| Angus | £160,906 | £153,141 | £7,765 | £21 | 5.10% |
| Shetland Islands | £186,590 | £178,935 | £7,655 | £21 | 4.30% |
| Dundee | £142,690 | £137,370 | £5,320 | £15 | 3.90% |
| Inverclyde | £115,536 | £111,632 | £3,904 | £11 | 3.50% |
| Aberdeen | £142,804 | £142,608 | £196 | £1 | 0.10% |
UK average house prices increased by 9.8% over the year to March 2022, down from 11.3% in February 2022. The average UK house price was £278,000 in March 2022, which is £24,000 higher than this time last year.
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, which represents estate agents, said: “The year-on-year increase shows there is still plenty of momentum within the housing market, however we are now seeing some signs of things starting to cool.
“But we keep coming back to the issue of low supply being the main driver of rising prices.
“Our member agents are telling us that it’s still an issue and that the number of people looking to buy remains far higher than the number of properties they have listed – this, coupled with incredibly low borrowing rates, is likely to maintain prices in the short to medium term.”
Mike Scott, chief analyst at national estate agency Yopa, also said the expectation was that month-on-month growth would resume in next month’s report, with the annual rate of growth staying around 10%.
“House prices cannot continue to defy gravity forever, but the current shortage of homes for sale and high demand from people who are still re-evaluating their lives and priorities for the post-pandemic world are likely to continue to support prices for at least the rest of 2022, and we do not anticipate any significant falls in nominal house prices this year.
“However, with inflation continuing to rise, and early signs that the housing market is beginning to cool off, it would not be surprising if we end the year with house prices rising more slowly than other prices, and so falling in real terms.”
Between the beginning of 2016 and the end of 2019, there was a general slowdown in UK house price growth, driven mainly by a slowdown in the south and east of England. The start of 2020 saw a pick-up in annual growth in the housing market before the coronavirus restrictions were put in place at the end of March 2020.
Recent price increases may reflect a range of factors, including some possible changes in housing preferences and a response to the changes made to property transaction taxes across the nations.
In July 2020, the Chancellor announced a suspension of the tax paid on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland, with similar suspensions announced in Scotland and Wales.
In England and Northern Ireland, properties up to the value of £500,000 would incur no tax, while the thresholds for Scotland and Wales were £250,000. This may allow sellers to request higher prices as buyers’ overall costs are reduced.
The tax holiday for Scotland ended on 31 March, 2021. It was extended until 30 June, 2021 in Wales, while in England and Northern Ireland, it was extended until the same date, but the threshold will then decrease to £250,000 before ending on 30 September, 2021.
This may have accounted for a rush of demand in mid-2021, as annual price rises soared to a 13.5% increase in the year to June 2021. There was another smaller rush in September, with annual growth at 11.5% that month.
The East Midlands was the region with the highest annual house price growth, with average prices increasing by 12.4% in the year to March. This was up from a growth rate of 11.6% in February.
The lowest annual house price growth was in London, where average prices increased by 4.8% over the year to March 2022, down from 7.8% in February 2022.
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