Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: May 2022

Published 20 July 2022

1. Headline statistics for May 2022

The average price of a property in Scotland was £187,517

The annual price change of a property in Scotland was 11.2%

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

The index figure for Scotland (January 2015 = 100) was 138.9

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 June 2022 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 17 August 2022. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Scotland house prices increased by 11.2% in the year to May 2022, down from an increase of 14.7% in the year to April 2022. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 1.1% between April and May 2022, compared with an increase of 4.2% during the same period a year earlier (April 2021 and May 2021). On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.6% between April and May 2022.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for March 2021 with the provisional estimate for March 2022, the volume of transactions decreased by 32.8% in Scotland. The UK volume of transactions decreased by 41.7% over the same period.

In Scotland, detached houses showed the largest increase out of all property types, rising by 13.6% in the year to May 2022 to £332,000. The lowest annual change of all property types was in flats and maisonettes, which increased by 8.2% in the year to May 2022 to £129,000.

The largest growth was in Argyll and Bute, where prices increased by 18.7% in the year to May 2022 to £185,000. The lowest annual growth for the year to May 2022 was in Inverclyde where average prices decreased over the year by 0.1% to £113,000.

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 11.2% in the year to May 2022, compared with an increase of 14.7% in the year to April 2022.

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 May 2022 May 2021 Difference
Aberdeenshire £202,558 £186,859 8.4%
Angus £171,136 £149,535 14.4%
Argyll and Bute £185,359 £156,151 18.7%
City of Aberdeen £146,913 £143,121 2.6%
City of Dundee £150,286 £138,993 8.1%
City of Edinburgh £321,679 £298,118 7.9%
City of Glasgow £167,691 £151,548 10.7%
Clackmannanshire £167,793 £142,963 17.4%
Dumfries and Galloway £155,699 £137,870 12.9%
East Ayrshire £123,942 £104,790 18.3%
East Dunbartonshire £253,323 £233,720 8.4%
East Lothian £305,323 £262,105 16.5%
East Renfrewshire £282,546 £250,852 12.6%
Falkirk £164,089 £138,431 18.5%
Fife £166,468 £146,605 13.5%
Highland £199,277 £185,754 7.3%
Inverclyde £112,837 £112,977 -0.1%
Midlothian £234,368 £204,424 14.6%
Moray £181,337 £158,320 14.5%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £160,351 £128,647 24.6%
North Ayrshire £126,602 £110,090 15.0%
North Lanarkshire £134,606 £119,507 12.6%
Orkney Islands £207,235 £176,403 17.5%
Perth and Kinross £227,868 £210,445 8.3%
Renfrewshire £150,865 £137,175 10.0%
Scottish Borders £195,648 £169,877 15.2%
Shetland Islands £219,985 £196,979 11.7%
South Ayrshire £163,777 £147,724 10.9%
South Lanarkshire £161,881 £139,662 15.9%
Stirling £241,049 £211,355 14.0%
West Dunbartonshire £135,159 £122,002 10.8%
West Lothian £202,299 £177,097 14.2%
Scotland £187,517 £168,589 11.2%

Average price by local authority for Scotland

In May 2022, the most expensive area to purchase a property was City of Edinburgh, where the average cost was £322,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Inverclyde, where the average cost was £113,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type May 2022 May 2021 Difference
Detached £331,996 £292,193 13.6%
Semi-detached £199,506 £177,498 12.4%
Terraced £160,197 £142,491 12.4%
Flat or maisonette £129,097 £119,266 8.2%
All £187,517 £168,589 11.2%

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

Local authorities March 2022 March 2021
Aberdeenshire 433 610
Angus 174 240
Argyll and Bute 126 263
City of Aberdeen 431 478
City of Dundee 207 293
City of Edinburgh 820 1,462
City of Glasgow 844 1,445
Clackmannanshire 82 94
Dumfries and Galloway 177 305
East Ayrshire 176 229
East Dunbartonshire 118 209
East Lothian 174 294
East Renfrewshire 136 223
Falkirk 192 308
Fife 488 726
Highland 351 520
Inverclyde 127 152
Midlothian 142 252
Moray 157 205
Na h-Eileanan Siar 32 45
North Ayrshire 204 269
North Lanarkshire 441 631
Orkney Islands 34 52
Perth and Kinross 213 429
Renfrewshire 347 475
Scottish Borders 170 248
Shetland Islands 18 27
South Ayrshire 160 248
South Lanarkshire 565 787
Stirling 140 218
West Dunbartonshire 98 130
West Lothian 264 381
Scotland 8,041 12,248

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 March 2022 will increase as more transactions are incorporated into the index. See our Revisions Policy for more information.

Comparing the provisional volume estimate for March 2021 with the provisional estimate for March 2022, volume transactions decreased by 32.8% 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, volume transactions decreased by 32.5% in Scotland in the year to March 2022.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
March 2018 8,043
March 2019 8,384
March 2020 6,447
March 2021 12,248
March 2022 8,041

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 March 2022 Monthly change Annual change
New build £307,425 6.1% 28.8%
Existing resold property £175,476 0.3% 6.6%

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 May 2022 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £151,167 2.0% 10.9%
Former owner occupier £225,526 0.2% 11.6%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price May 2022 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £170,588 0.8% 10.5%
Mortgage £195,509 1.2% 11.6%

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