Average Scottish house prices hit 'record levels' as property costs surge over last year

The average Scottish house price rose by record levels to almost £188,000 in the last 12 months, according to the latest figures.

Buyers across the country faced an increase of over 16% between April 2021 and 2022, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed.

The House Price Index (HPI) report found homes in some areas rose in value by almost 35% and fell in just one part of Scotland during the same time period.

Edinburgh continued to dominate as the most expensive part of the country to live, with those looking to buy in the capital expected to part with an average of £324,947 – up 11.6% from the £291,289 on the previous year.

East Lothian and East Renfrewshire joined the city as the only three areas where prices were above the UK average of £281,000 during the 12-month period.

Across the UK, house costs rose by an average of £31,000 – or 12.4% higher than the year before.

Every one of the four home nations saw prices hit record amounts during the period, with Scotland rising by more than £26,000 to £187,954, England to £299,000, Northern Ireland to £165,000 and Wales to £212,000.

Buyers in Orkney and the Western Isles saw prices surge by 34.3% and 25.1% respectively, but those in Shetland fell marginally by 0.6%.

Aberdeen and Dundee experienced rises of around 6% while in Glasgow it was just over 9%.

Inverclyde was found to be the cheapest part of Scotland in which to buy a home with average costs of just £111,462.

Meanwhile, first time buyers are now expected to part with £149,536 to get on the property ladder – a 14.5% increase on those purchasing their first homes last year.

ONS figures also released on Wednesday showed that Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation rose from 9% in April to 9.1% in May.

The pace of annual house price growth accelerated in April from 9.7% in March.

In March, the average UK house price had been £278,000.