Housing market: April price drop but Fife market is still buoyant
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But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 8.7% annual growth.
The average Fife house price in April was £145,588, Land Registry figures show – a 1.8% decrease on March.
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Hide AdOver the month, the picture was better than that across Scotland, where prices decreased 4.1%, and Fife outperformed the 1.9% drop for the UK as a whole.
Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Fife rose by £12,000 – putting the area 16th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities for annual growth.
The best annual growth in the region was in Orkney Islands, where property prices increased on average by 32.1%, to £159,000.
At the other end of the scale, properties in Na h-Eileanan Siar lost 0.5% of their value, giving an average price of £128,000.
Winners and Losers
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Hide AdOwners of terraced houses fared worst in Fife in April – they dropped 2% in price, to £119,531 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 9.5%.
Among other types of property:
Detached: down 1.6% monthly; up 9.8% annually; £265,472 average
Semi-detached: down 1.8% monthly; up 9% annually; £152,249 average
Flats: down 1.8% monthly; up 6.4% annually; £89,074 average
First steps on the property ladder
First-time buyers in Fife spent an average of £116,600 on their property – £9,100 more than a year ago, and £16,900 more than in April 2016.
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Hide AdBy comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £173,000 on average in April – 48.3% more than first-time buyers.
How do property prices in Fife compare?
Buyers paid 9.8% less than the average price in Scotland (£161,000) in April for a property in Fife. Across Scotland, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost £251,000.
The most expensive properties in Scotland were in the capital city of Edinburgh – £292,000 on average, and twice as much as in Fife.
Factfile
Average property price in April
Fife: £145,588
Scotland: £161,401
UK: £250,772
Annual growth to April
Fife: +8.7%
Scotland: +6.3%
UK: +8.9%