House price growth in Scotland exceeds all of England apart from the east region
House price growth in Scotland has increased for six months in a row and is now the second highest in the UK, according to the latest index figures. Property prices rose 0.1% in July and were up by 4.7% year on year, with only the East of England seeing higher growth, taking the average price to £175,877, the data from the Your Move Scotland index shows. The index report says that the rise in Scottish prices persisted in spite of political uncertainty as these were the first full month of figures following the unexpected election result in June which resulted in a hung Parliament. It also says that house price growth in Scotland is supported by persistent low interest rates, and an economy that continues to grow, benefiting from unemployment at a 42 year low. Half the country’s 32 local authority areas saw house prices grow over the month, and only four, Aberdeenshire, West Lothian, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire, haven’t seen growth in the last year. The highest increase in prices on both an annual and monthly basis was in Clackmannanshire, where values were up an average £12,500, or 9.6% over the year. Relatively few sales make prices in the area volatile, however. More significantly for the country, its biggest cities continue to perform strongly. Edinburgh overtook East Renfrewshire as the most expensive area, with price growth of 1.4% in July, to £257,676 and up 7.1% year on year. Glasgow, which at 16th, sits right in the middle of the league table of prices, saw 0.9% monthly growth, reaching a new peak for the third month in a row and the only other area to see a new peak was Angus.
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