Scotland property: Area sees third highest property prices rise in UK

House prices have risen by 10.7% in the local authority area, which is largely rural, with a wide range of golf courses and distilleries, and takes in part of the Cairngorms National Park.

The increase in property prices in Moray was beaten only by Powys in Wales, where house prices increased by 17.4%, and East Lindsey in the East Midlands, where house prices rose by 13.3%.

READ MORE: Revealed: Scotland's most expensive properties strongest in UK as major city leads

The data was taken from the Halifax House Price Index, which examined prices in more than 300 local authority areas across the UK in the three months to September this year, comparing them with the same three-month period in 2022.

Including Moray, there were a total of 10 Scottish local authority areas where housing prices rose in the last year.

In order, they are Renfrewshire (up 4.5%), Falkirk (up 3.5%), East Renfrewshire (unchanged at 3.3%), Fife (up 2.5%), Midlothian (up 0.8%), Aberdeen (up 0.7%), East Ayrshire (up 0.5%), Stirling (up 0.4%) and West Lothian (up 0.2%).

Graham Blair, mortgages director at the Bank of Scotland, said: "House prices in Scotland have proven to be more resilient than many other parts of the UK over the last year, down by less than 1%.

"Of course the performance of the housing market varies greatly in individual areas across the country, and there are a number of locations which have bucked the national trend of falling house prices.

There were a total of 10 Scottish local authority areas where housing prices rose in the last year.

"In total there are 10 places in Scotland where prices have risen in 2023.

"This can happen for a variety of reasons, from the number of properties being advertised for sale, to a spike in demand among buyers locally."

He added: "Top of the list is Moray, with its wealth of coastal and rural dwellings, where average prices are up by more than 10%."

The news comes weeks after Halifax named Falkirk as the only Scottish town on its list of “up-and-coming” locations where aspiring first-time buyers could look to start their journey on the property ladder.

Halifax said survey findings indicate that around six in 10 (61%) young adults who have not bought a home would be prepared to move to a different part of the country to get on the housing ladder.

READ MORE: Survey reveals where in Scotland house prices are most likely have risen and fallen

Almost half (44%) of potential first-time buyers looking to get on the housing ladder are now researching locations they would not have considered before the cost-of-living crisis, the bank found.

House prices and other factors such as local amenities were taken into account when compiling the list.

A survey in October also revealed that Scotland was the strongest-performing part of the UK for the “prime” housing market in the third quarter and over the last year.

Property agent Savills, which published the research, said the prime market is “broadly defined by the top 5% to 10% of homes by value”, with this translating to above approximately £500,000 in Scotland.

It described Scotland as the “standout performer” in the prime housing market, with prices down a “marginal” 0.1% in the third quarter and “just” 1.1% lower year-on-year.

These are much smaller falls than the 1.5% quarter-on-quarter and 5.2% year-on-year drops in prices in the overall UK prime housing market.

Savills observed its latest analysis “reveals that the prime city market of Glasgow has experienced the most robust growth of any Scottish location so far this year, with 0.5% growth in the nine months to September 2023”.

It said of the overall UK prime housing market: “Values remain 10.5% above their pre-Covid level thanks to the exceptional market conditions of the past two-plus years.”

Savills added: “In Scotland, at a different point in the cycle, that figure is plus-16.1%.”