For the first time since February, Scottish house prices saw a month on month decline in June, however taking into account the annual trends, prices were up 4 per cent on the same period in 2015.
Your Move Scotland’s latest figures showed monthly house prices down compared to May, although the average price of property was £170,404 in June, still 0.97 per cent higher compared to the start of the year.
Following April’s introduction of the 3 per cent tax increase on second homes, house prices and transaction figures remained skewed in the second quarter of this year, as buyers pushed to complete before the surcharge came into effect.
While June saw the historic EU referendum, the estate agency group stated it was still waiting for greater clarity on the short term effects this will have on the Scottish housing market.
Official data released currently covers the period up to the end of June, so only in the coming months will the impact of Brexit be seen.
“What we can see is that the underlying fundamentals of the market remain strong,” read the report, noting borrowers are benefitting from record low mortgage rates, high employment levels and strong demand for property.
| House Price | Index | Monthly Change % | Annual Change % |
| £170,404 | 223.2 | -0.4 | 4.0 |
Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, explained June was the first month that the spike in house prices as a result of the 2015 Land and Buildings Transaction Tax changes dropped out of the annual figures.
“This previous distortion in property prices goes some way to explaining the seemingly significant annual price increase we saw this June,” she said.
“Whilst market sentiment remains strong, with continued demand from both buyers and sellers, it will be interesting to watch how potential Brexit implications play into transaction and price figures over the coming months.”
John Tindale, senior housing analyst for Acadata, which helped put together the data, pointed out that it will be at least another month before they start to obtain hard facts about what has happened to sales volumes and house prices following the vote.
“This June report therefore reflects on how the uncertainty allied to the referendum has influenced the housing market, not the outcome of Brexit itself,” he added.
The official house price index from the Office for National Statistics and the Land Registry showed that in Scotland, the average price increased by 4.6 per cent over the year to June, up to £143,000.
peter.walker@ft.com
