Scottish house sales high seven-year high

The number of houses sold in Scotland has leapt to its highest level for more than seven years, according to Registers of Scotland (RoS).

A total of just over 28,000 properties were submitted for registration between July and September - a year-on-year quarterly rise of 6.5%.

That represented the highest volume of sales for any quarter since early 2008.

However house prices fell slightly, with the average home selling for just under £169,400.

The second quarter also saw the overall value of Scottish sales rise by 6% to £4.74bn - the highest amount recorded since 2008.

West Lothian recorded the highest percentage rise in the volume of sales, with an annual increase of 23.1%, to 905 residential sales.

The highest figure was in the City of Edinburgh, which rose 9.6% to 3,530 individual sales.

Aberdeenshire showed the largest percentage fall in volumes - down by 13.5% to 1,437.

The City of Edinburgh was the largest overall market, with sales of more than £805m for the quarter, an increase of 6.2%.

West Lothian recorded the highest increase in value, with sales up 31.5% to more than £148m.

The largest decrease in market value was seen in Aberdeenshire, which fell 16.6% to just over £323m.

Semi-detached houses were the only property types that showed an increase in prices over the quarter, rising by 2% to £159,854.

Detached, terraced and flatted properties were all down - detached by 0.9%, to £245,547, terraced by 3.1% to £137,607, and flats by 2.4% to £134,377.

The RoS statistics cover all residential sales, including those that did not involve a mortgage.

Outlook 'positive'

Responding to the figures, Michelle Grant, of Grant Property, said the outlook for the housing market continued to be positive, with high numbers of properties on offer.

She added: "This signals growing confidence and has created a more competitive environment for buyers and investors.

"Glasgow and Edinburgh are proving particularly popular with most properties selling for more than the Home Report valuation - on some occasions up to 15% more.

"It is also not uncommon to be bidding against up to eight to 10 people for a property in sought after areas of the capital."