Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: July 2023

Published 20 September 2023

1. Headline statistics for July 2023

The average price of a property in Scotland was £191,870

The annual price change of a property in Scotland was 0.1%

The monthly price change of a property in Scotland was 1.1%

The index figure for Scotland (January 2015 = 100) was 139.0

Estimates for the most recent months are provisional and are likely to be updated as more data is incorporated into the index. Read the revision policies.

Next publication of UK HPI

The August 2023 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 18 October 2023. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.1% in the 12 months to July 2023. This was down from 0.3% the 12 months to June 2023 and was slower than the average UK house price annual inflation of 0.6% in the 12 months to July 2023.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 1.1% between June 2023 and July 2023, compared with an increase of 1.2% during the same period 12 months ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.3% between June 2023 and July 2023.

Comparing the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for May 2022 with the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for May 2023, the volume of transactions decreased by 9.5% in Scotland and by 17.7% in the UK.

In Scotland, detached houses showed the highest annual percentage change out of all property types, increasing by 2.5% in the 12 months to July 2023 to £345,000. Flats and maisonettes showed the lowest annual percentage change, which decreased by 1.5% in the 12 months to July 2023 to an average price of £131,000.

The highest annual percentage change was in East Lothian, where average house prices increased by 11.7% in the 12 months to July 2023 to £330,000. The lowest annual percentage change was in West Dunbartonshire, where average house prices decreased by 7.0% in the 12 months to July 2023 to £133,000.

As with other indicators in the housing market, which typically fluctuate from month to month, it is important not to put too much weight on one month’s set of house price data.

3. Price change

3.1 Annual price change

Annual price change for Scotland over the past 5 years

In Scotland, average prices increased by 0.1% in the 12 months to July 2023, down from 0.3% in the 12 months to June 2023.

Annual price change by local authority for Scotland

Low numbers of sales transactions in some local authorities, such as Orkney Islands, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Shetland Islands, can lead to volatility in the series.

While we make efforts to account for this volatility, the change in price in these local levels can be influenced by the type and number of properties sold in any given period.

Geographies with low number of sales transactions should be analysed in the context of their longer-term trends rather than focusing on monthly movements.

Local authorities July 2023 July 2022 Difference
Aberdeenshire £196,584 £201,502 -2.4%
Angus £166,590 £171,806 -3.0%
Argyll and Bute £195,760 £191,931 2.0%
City of Aberdeen £138,110 £147,297 -6.2%
City of Dundee £149,362 £147,415 1.3%
City of Edinburgh £333,380 £328,731 1.4%
City of Glasgow £178,108 £175,329 1.6%
Clackmannanshire £164,354 £171,717 -4.3%
Dumfries and Galloway £160,627 £164,356 -2.3%
East Ayrshire £126,346 £126,765 -0.3%
East Dunbartonshire £263,387 £263,746 -0.1%
East Lothian £329,563 £295,101 11.7%
East Renfrewshire £285,795 £296,735 -3.7%
Falkirk £162,755 £164,420 -1.0%
Fife £175,568 £169,082 3.8%
Highland £202,356 £201,921 0.2%
Inverclyde £126,653 £124,043 2.1%
Midlothian £225,366 £230,987 -2.4%
Moray £197,554 £188,228 5.0%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £185,847 £151,969 22.3%
North Ayrshire £127,376 £130,288 -2.2%
North Lanarkshire £137,457 £136,723 0.5%
Orkney Islands £208,894 £220,453 -5.2%
Perth and Kinross £244,292 £238,757 2.3%
Renfrewshire £157,519 £154,461 2.0%
Scottish Borders £202,640 £196,921 2.9%
Shetland Islands £179,918 £193,485 -7.0%
South Ayrshire £170,776 £171,235 -0.3%
South Lanarkshire £167,520 £164,286 2.0%
Stirling £245,668 £249,236 -1.4%
West Dunbartonshire £133,123 £143,220 -7.0%
West Lothian £210,330 £204,164 3.0%
Scotland £191,870 £191,657 0.1%

Average price by local authority for Scotland

In July 2023, the most expensive area to purchase a property was City of Edinburgh, where the average cost was £333,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was East Ayrshire, where the average cost was £126,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type July 2023 July 2022 Difference
Detached £345,206 £336,936 2.5%
Semi-detached £205,071 £203,663 0.7%
Terraced £162,373 £163,182 -0.5%
Flat or maisonette £130,981 £132,909 -1.5%
All £191,870 £191,657 0.1%

4. Sales volumes

The amount of time between the sale of a property and the registration of this information varies. It typically ranges between 2 weeks and 2 months but can be longer. Volume figures for the most recent 2 months are not yet at a reliable level for reporting, so they are not included in the report. Published transactions for recent months will increase as later registered transactions are incorporated into the index.

Sales volume data is also available by property status (new build and existing property) and funding status (cash and mortgage) in our downloadable data tables. Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and require more time to process. Read Revisions to the UK HPI data for more information.

4.1 Sales volumes by local authority

Sales volumes for Scotland by local authority

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for the current month with the revised volume estimate for the corresponding month in the previous year

Local authorities May 2023 May 2022
Aberdeenshire 291 380
Angus 166 173
Argyll and Bute 129 149
City of Aberdeen 359 397
City of Dundee 220 253
City of Edinburgh 801 943
City of Glasgow 798 935
Clackmannanshire 80 71
Dumfries and Galloway 169 176
East Ayrshire 160 214
East Dunbartonshire 115 122
East Lothian 188 170
East Renfrewshire 134 176
Falkirk 210 262
Fife 554 581
Highland 291 353
Inverclyde 111 125
Midlothian 117 176
Moray 155 156
Na h-Eileanan Siar 18 21
North Ayrshire 216 235
North Lanarkshire 425 470
Orkney Islands 31 15
Perth and Kinross 210 241
Renfrewshire 275 318
Scottish Borders 146 195
Shetland Islands 29 19
South Ayrshire 182 178
South Lanarkshire 485 574
Stirling 132 136
West Dunbartonshire 89 99
West Lothian 252 260
Scotland 7,538 8,573

Note: The ‘Difference’ column has been removed from this table as the latest month’s data are not yet complete.

Note: The number of property transactions for May 2023 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the UK HPI index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for May 2022 with the provisional UK HPI estimate for May 2023, volume transactions decreased by 9.5% in Scotland.

UK Property Transaction Statistics published by HM Revenue & Customs (which differ in coverage but are more complete for this period) report that on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, HMRC volume transactions decreased by 10.2% in Scotland in the 12 months to May 2023.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
May 2019 9,695
May 2020 3,336
May 2021 8,752
May 2022 8,573
May 2023 7,538

5. Property status

Transactions involving the creation of a new register, such as new builds, are more complex and need more time to process. This means they can take longer to appear in the land registers. The volume of new build transactions for the most recent 2 months are not at a reliable level for reporting the breakdown between new build and existing resold property, so they are not included in the report.

New build and existing resold property for Scotland

Property status Average price May 2023 Monthly change Annual change
New build £301,397 1.0% 13.4%
Existing resold property £183,351 2.5% 0.5%

Note: Since the October 2017 release, amendments have been made to our estimation model when calculating our provisional estimate. Find out further information and the impact of this change in methods used to produce the UK HPI.

6. Buyer status

First time buyer and former owner occupier for Scotland

Type of buyer Average price July 2023 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £153,504 0.8% -0.5%
Former owner occupier £232,128 1.4% 0.6%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price July 2023 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £174,751 1.2% -0.5%
Mortgage £199,963 1.0% 0.4%

8. Access the data

Download the data as CSV files or access it with our UK HPI tool.

Data revisions

View any revisions to previously published data in the data downloads or find out more about revisions in our guidance About the UK HPI.

9. About the UK House Price Index

The UK House Price Index (UK HPI) is calculated by the Office for National Statistics and Land & Property Services Northern Ireland. Find out about the methodology used to create the UK HPI.

Data for the UK House Price Index is provided by HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, The Land & Property Services/Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency and the Valuation Office Agency.

Find out more about the UK House Price Index.

10. Contact for Scotland queries

Anne MacDonald, Land & Property Data Team, Registers of Scotland

Email Anne.MacDonald@ros.gov.uk

Telephone 0131 378 4991