In the three months ending October 2012, the quarterly price index for the average domestic property in Scotland fell by 5.8%.
According to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB Scotland, on an annual, underlying basis, Scottish house prices have fallen by 0.3%.
The average Scottish house price is now £155,188. Scottish house prices are 90% of their peak at the beginning of 2008.
The latest house price movement has been generated from a market with a low number of transactions. Compared to the previous quarter, the number of transactions in the Monitor is down by 26% and by 11% when compared to the same quarter one year ago. Prices continue to show volatility as a result, Lloyds TSB said.
For the market as a whole, Scottish house purchases during the third quarter of 2012 showed a fall of 2.1% on the same quarter of last year. For the month of September, the number of transactions fell by 7.7% compared to the same month in 2011.
Donald MacRae, chief economist, Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: “The Scottish housing market had adjusted to the recession with a halving of sales and a period of price volatility. The previous Monitor results showed a pick-up in both activity and prices. However, that pick-up has been reversed in the latest quarter leaving average house prices at 90% of their pre-recession peak.
“Consumer confidence turned negative at the beginning of 2011 and remained negative for 18 months. The latest figure for quarter three this year shows a return to positive territory. However, consumer confidence still remains low and the rate of increase in consumer spending remains modest.
“The pick-up in activity and price of the summer has been reversed with the Scottish housing market expressing low levels of consumer confidence and a return to recession, There are no signs in this latest quarter of any robust recovery in the Scottish housing market but equally no indications of sustained, deep falls in price.”
| AREA | UNDERLYING ANNUAL CHANGE | AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE |
| Aberdeen | -8.4% | £211,686 |
| North (excluding Aberdeen) | +2.6% | £183,273 |
| Dundee | -3.8% | £116,833 |
| Central/Fife/Perth/Tayside (excl Dundee) | -1.5% | £139,523 |
| Edinburgh | +0.4% | £216,912 |
| South East (excluding Edinburgh) | +.03% | £176,818 |
| Glasgow | +0.2% | £116,177 |
| South West (excluding Glasgow) | +1.5% | £139,996 |
Figures shown are for the year October 2011 to October 2012.
