Cost of properties soars by 172pc

HOUSE prices in Scotland have soared 172 per cent in two decades, with Scots now paying around £118,574 more for a property.

Banking giant Halifax revealed the cost of a house in Edinburgh has increased by 213 per cent in that time, from £85,72 to £2 8,555 at the end of this year.

The data, which covers November 1999 to November 2019, shows houses in Angus were 204 per cent more expensive in 2019, while Glasgow property was 195 per cent pricier.

The Highland and East Lothian local authorities complete the top five areas in Scotland which have experienced the biggest increases in the 20-year period, with 193 per cent and 189 per cent respectively. When compared with the rest of the UK, however, Scotland’s housing market has not seen as steep a rise.

The rest of the UK averages a 207 per cent increase, 35 percentage points more than in Scotland.

In Greater London, buyers now need to fork out an extra £375,983 (239 per cent) than they would have in 1999 (£157,453).

However, Faisal Choudhry, head of Savills residential research in Scotland, said that in recent years, Scotland’s housing market has seen an upward trend while London’s has stagnated. He said: ‘Scotland house prices have shown steady growth over the past few years, since the Brexit vote three years ago.

‘Transaction numbers have also increased and this has been led by prosperity and economic growth in Edinburgh and Glasgow.’

The Halifax figures also show that for the rest of the UK house prices are around 7.5 times the average income.

Mr Choudhry added there had been a sharp increase in workers selling property in London to buy larger houses in Scotland, where a home costs 5.3 times the salary of the average earner.