Scottish house prices continue modest growth

Latest research into house prices from Nationwide show that Scotland’s housing market is riding out the credit crisis and mortgage famine better than other regions of the UK.

According to the building society, the average UK house price has fallen 4% since the beginning of the year but homes in Scotland have recorded average growth of 0.6%.

Nationwide’s chief economist, Fionnuala Earley, attributes the rise to housing affordability; the average Scottish home costs 4.6 times the region’s average salary, compared to a ratio of 5.3 across the rest of the UK.

In addition, the oil industry is underpinning property price rises in Aberdeenshire and Moray where the average value of a home has risen by 7% in the past three months, to £165,600.

For Edinburgh the increase is less at 1% but the city remains the most expensive location in Scotland, with the average price of a home standing at £252,051. This compares with an average price of £285,568 for London.

During the past decade of high property inflation, house prices in Scotland have risen 146% but the region has historically avoided boom-and-bust cycles in the housing market and looks set to repeat the pattern in the months ahead.

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