Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: February 2024

Published 17 April 2024

1. Headline statistics for February 2024

The average price of a property in Scotland was £188,000

The annual price change of a property in Scotland was 5.6%

The monthly price change of a property in Scotland was -0.6%

The index figure for Scotland (January 2015 = 100) was 139.2

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 March 2024 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 22 May 2024. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Average house prices in Scotland increased by 5.6% (provisional estimate) in the 12 months to February 2024. This was up from 4.2% (revised estimate) in the 12 months to January 2024 and was higher than the average UK house price annual inflation of negative 0.2% (provisional estimate) in the 12 months to February 2024.

Scotland’s annual inflation rate rose in February 2024 because average house prices were falling more steeply between January and February 2023 than between January and February 2024. The rise in Scotland’s annual inflation rate in recent months is more reflective of Scotland’s average house price falling this time last year, rather than increasing in recent months. This is known as a base effect (as explained in ONS’ Beware base effects article). Scotland’s average house price fell in winter 2022/23, reaching a low point in February 2023. Scotland’s average house price returned to mid-2022 price levels by mid-2023 and has since remained comparatively stable.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland decreased by 0.6% between January 2024 and February 2024, compared with a decrease of 1.8% during the same period 12 months ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 1.1% between January 2024 and February 2024.

Comparing the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for December 2022 with the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for December 2023, the volume of transactions decreased by 7.6% in Scotland and by 42.3% in the UK.  

In Scotland, detached houses showed the highest annual percentage change out of all property types, increasing by 7.3% in the 12 months to February 2024 to £338,000. Terraced houses showed the lowest annual percentage change, which increased by 4.7% in the 12 months to February 2024 to an average price of £157,000.

The highest annual percentage change was in Inverclyde, where average house prices increased by 13.8% in the 12 months to February 2024 to £127,000. The lowest annual percentage change was in Argyll and Bute, where average house prices decreased by 1.9% in the 12 months to February 2024 to £186,000.

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 5.6% in the 12 months to February 2024 (provisional estimate), up from 4.2% in the 12 months to January 2024 (revised estimate).

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 February 2024 February 2023 Difference
Aberdeenshire £195,330 £196,255 -0.5%
Angus £166,069 £161,694 2.7%
Argyll and Bute £185,957 £189,587 -1.9%
City of Aberdeen £130,368 £127,784 2.0%
City of Dundee £144,792 £134,167 7.9%
City of Edinburgh £325,025 £304,773 6.6%
City of Glasgow £173,455 £164,400 5.5%
Clackmannanshire £164,946 £157,456 4.8%
Dumfries and Galloway £162,791 £159,754 1.9%
East Ayrshire £129,540 £122,691 5.6%
East Dunbartonshire £264,805 £252,115 5.0%
East Lothian £301,644 £280,616 7.5%
East Renfrewshire £284,114 £277,913 2.2%
Falkirk £166,967 £159,524 4.7%
Fife £164,719 £166,031 -0.8%
Highland £206,789 £203,287 1.7%
Inverclyde £126,828 £111,433 13.8%
Midlothian £242,528 £223,942 8.3%
Moray £193,326 £186,956 3.4%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £165,833 £148,234 11.9%
North Ayrshire £128,620 £125,313 2.6%
North Lanarkshire £134,759 £130,382 3.4%
Orkney Islands £208,704 £192,816 8.2%
Perth and Kinross £245,253 £232,806 5.3%
Renfrewshire £156,618 £145,944 7.3%
Scottish Borders £196,328 £193,687 1.4%
Shetland Islands £198,197 £212,121 -6.6%
South Ayrshire £176,095 £164,414 7.1%
South Lanarkshire £164,006 £157,647 4.0%
Stirling £241,787 £242,057 -0.1%
West Dunbartonshire £134,403 £131,759 2.0%
West Lothian £214,059 £204,556 4.6%
Scotland £187,807 £177,921 5.6%

Average price by local authority for Scotland

In February 2024, the most expensive area to purchase a property was City of Edinburgh, where the average cost was £325,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Inverclyde, where the average cost was £127,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type February 2024 February 2023 Difference
Detached £338,433 £315,374 7.3%
Semi-detached £200,664 £188,681 6.4%
Terraced £156,819 £149,807 4.7%
Flat or maisonette £129,816 £123,954 4.7%
All £187,807 £177,921 5.6%

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 December 2023 December 2022
Aberdeenshire 237 278
Angus 126 161
Argyll and Bute 139 154
City of Aberdeen 319 285
City of Dundee 198 218
City of Edinburgh 820 848
City of Glasgow 787 980
Clackmannanshire 73 78
Dumfries and Galloway 193 178
East Ayrshire 165 180
East Dunbartonshire 114 129
East Lothian 183 200
East Renfrewshire 144 133
Falkirk 188 212
Fife 490 514
Highland 309 328
Inverclyde 84 96
Midlothian 134 177
Moray 133 148
Na h-Eileanan Siar 22 16
North Ayrshire 174 182
North Lanarkshire 392 456
Orkney Islands 27 24
Perth and Kinross 223 242
Renfrewshire 271 310
Scottish Borders 130 153
Shetland Islands 10 19
South Ayrshire 179 183
South Lanarkshire 470 529
Stirling 121 143
West Dunbartonshire 102 94
West Lothian 191 256
Scotland 7,148 7,904

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 December 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 December 2022 with the provisional UK HPI estimate for December 2023, volume transactions decreased by 7.6% 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 7.8% in Scotland in the 12 months to December 2023.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
December 2019 8,072
December 2020 11,148
December 2021 8,942
December 2022 7,904
December 2023 7,148

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 December 2023 Monthly change Annual change
New build £286,149 -2.7% 19.1%
Existing resold property £180,610 -1.4% 0.3%

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 February 2024 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £150,013 -0.6% 5.1%
Former owner occupier £227,846 -0.5% 6.1%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price February 2024 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £171,109 -0.8% 4.6%
Mortgage £195,817 -0.4% 6.1%

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 [email protected]

Telephone 0131 378 4991