North Lanarkshire house prices dropped more than Scotland average in February

House prices dropped by 3.5% – more than the average for Scotland – in North Lanarkshire in February, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 3.7% annual growth.

The average North Lanarkshire house price in February was £132,624, Land Registry figures show – a 3.5% decrease on January.

Over the month, the picture was worse than that across Scotland, where prices decreased 2.6%, and North Lanarkshire underperformed compared to the 1% drop for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in North Lanarkshire rose by £4,700 – putting the area 13th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The best annual growth in the region was in the Shetland Islands, where property prices increased on average by 24.5%, to £217,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Aberdeen lost 6.6% of their value, giving an average price of £132,000.

Winners and Losers

Owners of detached houses fared worst in North Lanarkshire in February – they dropped 3.8% in price, to £273,401 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 5.1%.

Among other types of property:

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in North Lanarkshire spent an average of £108,500 on their property – £3,500 more than a year ago, and £23,200 more than in February 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £163,500 on average in February – 50.6% more than first-time buyers.

How do property prices in North Lanarkshire compare?

Buyers paid 26.4% less than the average price in Scotland (£180,000) in February for a property in North Lanarkshire. Across Scotland, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £288,000.

The most expensive properties in Scotland were in Edinburgh – £320,000 on average, and 2.4 times as much as more than in North Lanarkshire. Edinburgh properties cost 2.8 times as much as homes in Inverclyde (£115,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in 160.

Factfile

Average property price in February

• North Lanarkshire: £132,624
• Scotland:£180,287
• UK: £287,506

Annual growth to February

• North Lanarkshire: +3.7%
• Scotland: +1%
• UK: +5.5%

Best and worst annual growth in Scotland

• The Shetland Islands: +24.5%
• Aberdeen: -6.6%