North Lanarkshire house prices dropped slightly in December

House prices dropped slightly, by 0.2%, in North Lanarkshire in December, new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 2.3% over the last year.

The average North Lanarkshire house price in December was £137,323, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2% decrease on November.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across Scotland, where prices decreased 0.9%, but North Lanarkshire was lower than the 0.1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in North Lanarkshire rose by £3,100 – putting the area 12th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth in the region was in Na h-Eileanan Siar, where property prices increased on average by 14.3%, to £175,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in the Shetland Islands lost 18% of their value, giving an average price of £173,000.

First steps on the property ladder

First-time buyers in North Lanarkshire spent an average of £112,000 on their property – £1,800 more than a year ago, and £24,200 more than in December 2018.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £170,100 on average in December – 51.9% more than first-time buyers.

Property types

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest fall in property prices in North Lanarkshire in December – they dropped 0.6% in price, to £112,246 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 0.9%.

Among other types of property:

• Detached: up 0.6% monthly; up 5.4% annually; £287,439 average
• Semi-detached: up 0.4% monthly; up 4.2% annually; £154,815 average
• Flats: down 0.6% monthly; up 0.2% annually; £76,876 average

How do property prices in North Lanarkshire compare?

Buyers paid 27.9% less than the average price in Scotland (£190,000) in December for a property in North Lanarkshire. Across Scotland, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £285,000.

The most expensive properties in Scotland were in Edinburgh – £338,000 on average, and 2.5 times the price as in North Lanarkshire. Edinburgh properties cost 2.7 times the price as homes in East Ayrshire (£125,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea.

Factfile

Average property price in December

• North Lanarkshire: £137,323
• Scotland:£190,341
• UK: £284,691

Annual change to December

• North Lanarkshire: +2.3%
• Scotland: +3.3%
• UK: -1.4%

Highest and lowest annual growth in Scotland

• Na h-Eileanan Siar: +14.3%
• The Shetland Islands: -18%