The boost to Scottish house prices that was felt after the referendum has worn off as values North of the boarder slip in November.

Dr Peter Williams, housing market specialist and Chairman of Acadata, comments:

"In November, the average house price in Scotland fell by £191, or -0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis, finishing the month at an average of £164,607. Following on from the more upbeat rise of 0.7% in October, the November figures are perhaps somewhat disappointing, but possibly reflect a more balanced view of the housing market post-referendum. For example, one of the statistics we quoted last month to illustrate the buoyant post-referendum mood in Scotland’s October housing market was a doubling of the number of properties sold in excess of £1 million, which totalled 23. By way of contrast, the equivalent number of property sales in November in excess of £1 million halved to a total of 12, which is closer to the norm for this time of year. The -0.1% fall in prices in the month therefore reflects the market returning to a more usual pattern of trading.

On an annual basis, house prices have increased by £6,750 or 4.3%, which is 1.4% lower than last month. The 4.3% annual growth in average house prices still comfortably exceeds the current annual Consumer Price Index rate of 1.0% for November, indicating that homeowners are seeing ‘real’ growth in the value of their asset. Positive annual house price movements in excess of 1% are being seen in 23 of the 32 local authority areas, suggesting that the majority of homeowners in Scotland are witnessing their wealth slowly increase.

Scotland’s annual rate of house price inflation at 4.3% is lower than all of the regions in England & Wales, with the exception of the North, where annual house price increases amounted to 3.5%. The average annual rise in house prices in England & Wales in November was 10.6%, but this reduces to a more comparable 5.7% if one excludes London and the South East from the calculations."