The annual price growth for houses in Scotland reached 9.0% during January, according to the latest Walker Fraser Steele House Price Index (Scotland).

Figures showed that house prices grew on a monthly basis by 0.9% in January, to take the average Scottish house price to £203,369.

Sales of detached homes have increased at the fastest rate of all property types, while the data also showed that transactions in Q4 2020 climbed by 25% on Q4 2019 levels.

Walker Fraser Steele business development manager, Alan Penman, suggested that just as in other parts of the UK, “buyers are seeking property in country locations”.

“Areas that continue to do well in Scotland include Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, and Ayrshire,” Penman commented. “More generally, Scotland’s housing market continues to offer exceptional value for money compared to many areas south of the border.

“Demand regionally has been fuelled by changing housing preferences as a result of the pandemic and the lockdowns of the last year. The pandemic has changed what many people want in a property and, in many cases, they are leaving big cities for smaller towns or more rural areas. Lifestyle changes and the changes to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) have worked together to help underpin the price rises of the last year.

“The raising of the nil threshold last July prompted a growth in the volume of first-time buyers in the Scottish market, helping transactions grow 25% in Q4 compared to Q4 of the previous year.

“Holyrood has decided to end the LBTT holiday on 1 April this year, however, the market has shown it has performed well with its support with annual price growth in January 2021 reaching 9%.”

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