West Lothian and Falkirk Council area house prices rise above national average

House prices increased by 3.5 per cent in Falkirk and 1.6 per cent in West Lothian in November, new figures show.

This contributes to the longer-term trend, with property prices in Falkirk rising by 9.1 per cent in the past year, and West Lothian’s annual growth up 6.9 per cent.

The average Falkirk house price in November was £140,488, while in West Lothian it was £173,455, Land Registry figures show.

Over the month, the local picture was better than that across Scotland, where prices increased by 0.9 per cent, and the 1.2 per cent rise for the UK.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Falkirk rose by £12,000 – putting the area eighth among Scotland’s 32 local authorities for annual growth. The average sale price of property in West Lothian rose by £11,000 – putting it 16th.

The best annual growth in the country was in East Ayrshire, where property prices increased on average by 15.6 per cent, to £110,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Aberdeen lost 3.4 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £141,000.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in West Lothian and Falkirk in November. In West Lothian they increased 2.1 per cent, to £303,852 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 8.1 per cent. In West Lothian they were up four per cent in November, to £260,582 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 10.9 per cent.

First-time buyers in West Lothian spent an average of £140,500 on their property – £8,800 more than a year ago, and £26,600 more than in October 2015. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £204,100 on average in November– 45.2 per cent more than first-time buyers.

First-time buyers in Falkirk spent an average of £116,300 on their property – £9,200 more than a year ago, and £24,500 more than in October 2015. Former owner-occupiers paid £167,000 on average in November.

West Lothian buyers paid 4.7 per cent more than the average price in Scotland (£166,000) in November. Across Scotland, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £250,000.

In the Falkirk Council area, buyers paid 15.2 per cent less than the national average.

The most expensive properties in Scotland were in Edinburgh – £287,000 on average. Edinburgh properties cost 2.6 times as much as homes in East Ayrshire (£110,000 average), at the other end of the scale.

The highest property prices across the UK were in Kensington and Chelsea, where the average November sale price of £1.5 million could buy 16 properties in Blaenau Gwent (average £95,000).