Accredited official statistics

UK House Price Index Scotland: May 2024

Published 17 July 2024

1. Headline statistics for May 2024

The average price of a property in Scotland was £191,000

The annual price change of a property in Scotland was 2.5%

The monthly price change of a property in Scotland was 0.3%

The index figure for Scotland (January 2015 = 100) was 141.9

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 2024 UK HPI will be published at 9.30am on Wednesday 14 August 2024. See the calendar of release dates for more information.

2. Economic statement

Average house prices in Scotland increased by 2.5% (provisional estimate) in the 12 months to May 2024. This was down from 4.8% (revised estimate) in the 12 months to April 2024 and was higher than the average UK house price annual inflation of 2.2% (provisional estimate) in the 12 months to May 2024.

Scotland’s average house price rose to £190,000 in August 2022 before falling to £178,000 in February 2023. Average prices then rose for several months and stabilised in late 2023 around £187,000 before increasing to £191,000 in May 2024.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland increased by 0.3% between April 2024 and May 2024, down from an increase of 2.5% during the same period 12 months ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in Scotland decreased by 0.2% between April 2024 and May 2024.

Comparing the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for March 2023 with the provisional UK HPI volume estimate for March 2024, the volume of transactions decreased by 4.1% in Scotland and decreased by 36.1% in the UK.  

In Scotland, semi-detached houses had the highest annual percentage change out of all property types, increasing by 4.8% in the 12 months to May 2024 to £205,000. Flats and maisonettes had the lowest annual percentage change, which increased by 1.0% in the 12 months to May 2024 to an average price of £134,000.

In Scotland, 29 of the 32 local authority areas showed an increase in average house prices in the 12 months to May 2024. The highest annual percentage change was in Stirling, where average house prices increased by 13.3% in the 12 months to May 2024 to £260,000. The lowest annual percentage change was in Dumfries and Galloway, where average house prices decreased by 0.4% in the 12 months to May 2024 to £160,000.

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 2.5% in the 12 months to May 2024 (provisional estimate), down from 4.8% in the 12 months to April 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 May 2024 May 2023 Difference
Aberdeenshire £205,354 £202,502 1.4%
Angus £168,257 £158,392 6.2%
Argyll and Bute £190,595 £181,555 5.0%
City of Aberdeen £134,244 £132,474 1.3%
City of Dundee £141,665 £138,505 2.3%
City of Edinburgh £327,751 £313,126 4.7%
City of Glasgow £176,055 £165,684 6.3%
Clackmannanshire £168,443 £155,735 8.2%
Dumfries and Galloway £160,336 £161,031 -0.4%
East Ayrshire £127,999 £123,459 3.7%
East Dunbartonshire £257,859 £256,061 0.7%
East Lothian £305,168 £299,865 1.8%
East Renfrewshire £295,507 £292,712 1.0%
Falkirk £163,171 £157,610 3.5%
Fife £170,470 £168,269 1.3%
Highland £203,076 £200,882 1.1%
Inverclyde £123,879 £119,513 3.7%
Midlothian £234,225 £225,920 3.7%
Moray £198,208 £190,546 4.0%
Na h-Eileanan Siar £142,016 £143,207 -0.8%
North Ayrshire £134,936 £126,214 6.9%
North Lanarkshire £141,170 £133,892 5.4%
Orkney Islands £213,816 £207,515 3.0%
Perth and Kinross £235,111 £235,254 -0.1%
Renfrewshire £160,658 £151,505 6.0%
Scottish Borders £204,342 £195,264 4.6%
Shetland Islands £208,378 £185,156 12.5%
South Ayrshire £166,437 £162,960 2.1%
South Lanarkshire £167,000 £160,274 4.2%
Stirling £259,741 £229,154 13.3%
West Dunbartonshire £138,616 £125,405 10.5%
West Lothian £211,656 £201,650 5.0%
Scotland £191,435 £186,711 2.5%

Average price by local authority for Scotland

In May 2024, the most expensive area to purchase a property was City of Edinburgh, where the average cost was £328,000. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Inverclyde, where the average cost was £124,000.

3.2 Average price change by property type

Average price change by property type for Scotland

Property type May 2024 May 2023 Difference
Detached £336,060 £324,561 3.5%
Semi-detached £204,573 £195,169 4.8%
Terraced £160,405 £156,552 2.5%
Flat or maisonette £134,006 £132,626 1.0%
All £191,435 £186,711 2.5%

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 March 2024 March 2023
Aberdeenshire 290 344
Angus 123 130
Argyll and Bute 143 149
City of Aberdeen 410 387
City of Dundee 203 197
City of Edinburgh 818 807
City of Glasgow 876 937
Clackmannanshire 70 69
Dumfries and Galloway 170 198
East Ayrshire 171 205
East Dunbartonshire 130 135
East Lothian 147 198
East Renfrewshire 147 154
Falkirk 225 200
Fife 473 553
Highland 289 351
Inverclyde 105 86
Midlothian 176 153
Moray 124 127
Na h-Eileanan Siar 18 28
North Ayrshire 239 170
North Lanarkshire 453 474
Orkney Islands 18 23
Perth and Kinross 232 252
Renfrewshire 334 323
Scottish Borders 156 153
Shetland Islands 19 20
South Ayrshire 165 204
South Lanarkshire 499 551
Stirling 110 165
West Dunbartonshire 120 102
West Lothian 212 298
Scotland 7,665 8,143

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 2024 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 March 2023 with the provisional UK HPI estimate for March 2024, volume transactions decreased by 4.1% 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 4.6% in Scotland in the 12 months to March 2024.

4.2 Sales volumes

Sales volumes for Scotland over the past 5 years

Date Sales volumes for Scotland
March 2020 6,447
March 2021 12,235
March 2022 8,205
March 2023 8,143
March 2024 7,665

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 2024 Monthly change Annual change
New build £290,091 -0.7% 16.0%
Existing resold property £181,663 1.0% 2.9%

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 2024 Monthly change Annual change
First time buyer £153,982 0.3% 2.2%
Former owner occupier £230,468 0.3% 2.9%

7. Funding status

Cash and mortgage indicator for Scotland

Funding status Average price May 2024 Monthly change Annual change
Cash £175,558 1.1% 2.1%
Mortgage £198,915 -0.1% 2.8%

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