Househunting? Go West!

West and Central Scotland house prices per square metre fastest growing over last five years 

• Larkhall and Lanark record the biggest price increase since 2013 (33%)
• Grangemouth has the lowest average price per m²  at £1,016
• Edinburgh is Scotland’s most expensive city at £2,669 per m² 

West and Central Scotland have seen the biggest increase in house price per m² in Scotland over the last five years but traditional housing hotspots in the East remain the most expensive. 

New research from Bank of Scotland has revealed that Larkhall and Lanark both saw the largest house price growth per m² over the last five years at 33% to an average price of £1,163 and £1,184 respectively, closely followed by Dalkeith, Bathgate and Hamilton (all 32%). (Table 5)

In Scotland, house prices per m² have risen by 20% since 2013 from an average of £1,320 to £1,579 in 2018. Greater London has experienced substantially faster growth than elsewhere in Great Britain over the same period, with an average increase of 52%. (Table 6)

Scotland’s most expensive and least expensive towns

Unsurprisingly, Edinburgh is Scotland’s most expensive town at £2,669 per m². Linlithgow in West Lothian (£2,076 per m²) is the second most expensive town, followed by Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire (£2,039 per m²). (Table 1)

Grangemouth in Stirlingshire is the least expensive town in Scotland with an average price of £1,016 per m², followed by Bellshill in North Lanarkshire (£1,030 per m²). (Table 2)

Graham Blair, Mortgages Director, Bank of Scotland, said: “It can be useful when comparing house prices to use a measure such as house price per square metre as it reflects differences in size and type of properties in different locations.

“Towns in the East and the North are more expensive than West and Central areas. However, several towns in the West have seen significant increases in the last five years. Despite this, a clear gap has formed between England, particularly London, and Scotland, Ireland and Wales over the last 20 years.”

Scotland’s top 10 most expensive and least expensive towns

Of the top 10 most expensive towns in Scotland per m², six are in Edinburgh and the Lothians with the remaining four in Aberdeenshire. Whilst it is no surprise that these financial and industrial hubs dominate the house price per m² charts, the difference in price per m² between Broxburn in West Lothian (one of the top 10 most expensive towns in Scotland), and Grangemouth in Stirlingshire (the least expensive town in Scotland) is only £653 per m². (Tables 1 & 2)

Whilst this is a fair amount of cash, it shows that Scotland’s housing market is less polarised than south of the border, with the difference between Lambeth (one of the top 10 most expensive towns in England), and Nelson (the least expensive town in England) a massive £5,465. (Tables 3 & 4)

Eight of the 10 towns with the lowest prices per m² are in either central or western Scotland. In addition to Grangemouth (£1,016) and Bellshill (£1,030), these include Irvine (£1,090), Larkhall (£1,163), Coatbridge (£1,147) and Wishaw (£1,159), all in Central Scotland, along with Greenock (£1,090) and Dumfries (£1,124) in the West of Scotland. The two towns with the lowest house prices on a per m² basis are Lochgelly (£1,100) and Glenrothes (£1,167), both in Fife in the East of Scotland. (Table 2)

Longer term trend watch

The East of Scotland has seen the biggest house price per m² increases in Scotland over the last 20 years. Edinburgh grew the most at 207%, followed by Stonehaven (200%) and the two Highland towns of Inverness (179%) and Elgin (177%) also saw substantial increases over the last two decades. Edinburgh is the only town in Scotland to have an average house price per m² above the British average of £2,342. (Tables 6 & 7)

Scotland’s house prices per m² growth lowest in Great Britain over last 20 years

The average price per m² across Scotland has increased by 148% over the past 20 years from £637 in 1998 to £1,579 in 2018. This is the lowest increase of any area of Great Britain, with Greater London experiencing price hikes of 301% and Wales seeing an increase of 180%. The average increase across Great Britain since 1998 is 215%. (Table 8)

Table 1: 10 most expensive towns per square metre in Scotland

Town	Price per M2 (£) 2018
Edinburgh	2,669
Linlithgow	2,076
Stonehaven	2,039
Westhill	1,991
Aberdeen	1,928
Musselburgh	1,892
Dalkeith	1,851
Penicuik	1,714
Ellon	1,681
Broxburn	1,669

   Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May

    Table 2: 10 least expensive towns per square metre in Scotland

Town	Price per M2 (£) 2018
Grangemouth	1,016
Bellshill	1,030
Greenock	1,090
Irvine	1,090
Lochgelly	1,100
Dumfries	1,124
Coatbridge	1,147
Wishaw	1,159
Larkhall	1,163
Glenrothes	1,167

   Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May 

Table 3: 10 Most Expensive towns per Square Metre in Great Britain
Town/ Borough	Region	Price per M2 (£) 2018	Average size per M22018
Westminster	Greater London	9,379	67
Camden	Greater London	8,653	78
Hammersmith and Fulham	Greater London	7,868	80
Islington	Greater London	7,692	78
Hackney	Greater London	7,119	75
Wandsworth	Greater London	7,033	89
Tower Hamlets	Greater London	6,723	72
Richmond upon Thames	Greater London	6,521	100
Southwark	Greater London	6,461	77
Lambeth	Greater London	6,436	81

   Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May

    Table 4: 10 Least Expensive towns per Square Metre in Great Britain

Town	Region	Price per M2 (£) 2018	Average size per M22018
Aberdare	Wales	969	121
Nelson	North West	971	106
Merthyr Tydfil	Wales	980	112
Peterlee	North	985	104
Stanley	North	997	132
Grangemouth	Scotland	1,016	96
Port Talbot	Wales	1,024	114
Bootle	North West	1,025	101
Bellshill	Scotland	1,030	97
Greenock	Scotland	1,090	106

    Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May 

   Table 5: Biggest price increases per square metre (%), 2013-2018

Town/Borough	Average House Price 2018 £	Price per M2 (£)		5 Year %	5  Year £
		2013	2018
Larkhall	138,048	873	1,163	33%	291
Lanark	160,873	889	1,184	33%	294
Dalkeith	194,315	1,398	1,851	32%	454
Bathgate	166,004	1,057	1,400	32%	343
Hamilton	136,894	1,024	1,352	32%	329
Glasgow	174,953	1,282	1,668	30%	386
Livingston	171,083	1,236	1,604	30%	368
Kilmarnock	139,512	948	1,223	29%	275
Edinburgh	249,535	2,074	2,669	29%	595
Leven	137,639	918	1,181	29%	263

   Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May

Table 6: Regional house prices per square metre, 2013-2018

Region Price per M2 (£) 2013 Price per M2 (£) 2018 2013-2018 change – % Average size per M2 2018 Greater London 3,374 5,131 52% 93 East Anglia 1,538 2,256 47% 115 South East 2,224 3,215 45% 107 East Midlands 1,299 1,782 37% 116 West Midlands 1,415 1,929 36% 109 South West 1,752 2,338 33% 112 North West 1,261 1,668 32% 112 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,258 1,622 29% 111 Wales 1,150 1,456 27% 121 North 1,136 1,364 20% 118 Scotland 1,320 1,579 20% 111 Great Britain 1,698 2,342 38% 110 Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May

 Table 7: Biggest price increases per square metre (%), 1998-2018

Town/Borough	Average House Price 2018 £	Price per M2 (£)		20 Year %	20  Year £
		1998	2018
Edinburgh	249,535	871	2,669	207%	1,799
Stonehaven	234,795	679	2,039	200%	1,360
Inverness	192,693	591	1,649	179%	1,058
Elgin	154,470	506	1,399	177%	893
Dalkeith	194,315	672	1,851	176%	1,180
Leven	137,639	429	1,181	175%	752
Linlithgow	244,599	761	2,076	173%	1,315
Musselburgh	190,414	698	1,892	171%	1,193
Larbert	182,120	561	1,510	169%	949
Broxburn	173,955	641	1,669	160%	1,028

   Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May

     Table 8: Regional house prices per square metre, 1998-2018

Price per M2 (£) 1998 Price per M2(£) 2018 1998-2018 change – % Average size per M2 2018 Greater London 1,279 5,131 301% 93 East Anglia 642 2,256 252% 115 South East 940 3,215 242% 107 South West 691 2,338 238% 112 East Midlands 581 1,782 207% 116 West Midlands 668 1,929 189% 109 Yorkshire and the Humber 571 1,622 184% 111 Wales 521 1,456 180% 121 North West 605 1,668 176% 112 North 517 1,364 164% 118 Scotland 637 1,579 148% 111 Great Britain 744 2,342 215% 110 Source: Bank of Scotland, 12 months to May