SOME of Scotland's most rural areas are seeing a surge in annual house prices of up to 22.6% in a year as demand surges for peaceful locations post-pandemic.

A new analysis reveals that average annual house prices in Argyll and Bute have risen at the greatest rate in Scotland as typical price paid for a home in Scotland in May 2022 rose by 8.5% to £220,870.

In the Argyll and Bute local authority area the average house price has risen by £41,928 to £227,213 - a 22.6% leap, over two-and-a-half times the national increase rate.

Recently a five-bedroom detached property in Colintraive, overlooking Loch Riddon, with a guide price of £550,000, was sold for £650,000.

The analysis by Scotland's longest established chartered surveyor Walker Taylor Steele sai dit was an example which showed that "competition for homes in remote beauty spots can result in a noticeable increase in average house prices".

Clackmannanshire saw the second highest annual rise in annual house prices at 17.8%, followed by East Ayrshire (16.5%), Orkney Islands (15%), West Lothian (11.3%) and Fife (11.2%). The biggest loser in house prices was the West Dunbartonshire local authority area, the only area in Scotland where house prices fell over the year - by -0.1%. It was the average price of terraced properties that saw the most significant fall, from an average £130k in May 2021 to £120k twelve months later.

The other main losers in terms of house price rises were Aberdeen City which saw a 1.1% increase, Inverclyde (3.1%), Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (4%) and Shetland Islands (4.1%).

The analysis by Scotland's longest established chartered surveyor Walker Taylor Steele found that prices in May rose by 1.0%, or close to £2,300 across Scotland. The monthly increase is almost double that recorded in April (0.6%).

Meanwhile Registers of Scotland registrations showed there were 8232 sales in April 2022, the highest number in the month of the last ten years.

The Herald:

House price rise heat map

The provisional figure for May 2022 is 9,092 transactions, which is the second highest May figure of the last ten years – the highest having taken place in 2019, being the year before the pandemic struck.

There were 58 sales in excess of £750,000 during May 2022, more than four times as many as the same period in 2015.

"The rise in the number of high-value homes being purchased in 2022 is an indication that the 'lifestyle changes' associated with the pandemic - “working from home” and the “race for space” - are still strong features of the current housing market," the analysis said.

"This has resulted in strong competition for the properties that meet these requirements, with substantial price rises being seen at the top-end of the market."

The five authorities with the largest number of the 355 high-value sales in Scotland that have been recorded to date in 2022 are: Edinburgh (179); Fife (21); Glasgow City (21); East Lothian (20); and East Renfrewshire (15).

The analysis said that this suggests that the housing market in Scotland "remains resilient, despite the potential headwinds of interest rate rises and the cost-of-living increases, which have been widely publicised."

Scott Jack, regional development director at Walker Fraser Steele, said: “One would never claim any market is bullet proof but on the current evidence Scotland’s property market remains at the very least in robust form. The rise in interest rates and the increase in the cost of-living are not yet having a marked impact on house price growth.

“The average price paid for a house in Scotland [has established] yet another record price for the country – the eleventh occasion that this has happened in the last twelve months.

“The market transaction data too is robust - defying any expectations of a slow-down on this evidence. The provisional figure for May 2022 is 9,092 transactions, which is the second highest May figure of the last ten years – the highest having taken place in 2019, being the year before the pandemic struck.

“Ultimately demand is strong, but the supply of desirable stock remains low. Property prices are therefore seemingly more resilient in the face of rising borrowing costs."

The Herald:

On a weight-adjusted basis, which employs both the change in prices and the number of transactions involved, there are five local authority areas in May that account for 44% of the £17,100 increase in Scotland’s average house price over the year. The five areas in descending order of influence are: – Edinburgh (16%), Glasgow (8%); Fife (8%); South Lanarkshire (7%); and Argyll and Bute (5%).

Last month, research from mortgage lender Halifax found a typical Scottish home is 5.1 times average earnings across the first quarter of this year.

However, in Inverclyde in the west of Scotland, house prices were 3.1 times average earnings – making it the most affordable place to buy a home in the study.