Homebuyers dig deep as house prices creep higher

THE average cost of a house in Scotland has risen to almost £200,000.

Property prices have increased by 7.8 per cent over the past year, meaning homebuyers will have to fork out £198,000 on average, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The figures, released yesterday, show prices are still marginally behind the record levels of last August, but there remains growing optimism in the market.

Christine Campbell, regional managing director of Your Move Scotland, said: ‘The Scottish housing market has hit the ground running at a lively pace in 2015, and we’ve witnessed a strong upturn in annual growth at the same time that property price inflation looks to be flagging across the rest of the UK.

‘This marks the next evolution in Scotland’s housing recovery – with property prices now overtaking housing boom records, we can stop looking over our

‘Next evolution in housing recovery’

shoulder at the shadow of the financial crash and set our sights firmly on the horizon.’

However, she warned that there was still plenty of ground to make up, adding: ‘Levels of completed home sales in 2015 have been underwhelming so far.

‘The Government’s Help to Buy ISA announcement and next month’s Land and Buildings Transaction Tax should shake things up and awaken new vigour.’

Thousands of homeowners are finally able to turn their backs on the housing crash as property prices continue to increase.

From the start of 2015, the average home in Scotland is now worth £1,238 more than at the peak of the housing boom.

North Ayrshire has seen the biggest rise in house prices on the mainland over the past year, up 11.6 per cent – with the typical price of a detached home growing f rom £ 1 80,000 to £210,000.

Meanwhile, values in West Dunbartonshire have fallen by 7.2 per cent over the same period.