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Official data from the Registers of Scotland has confirmed earlier reports that house prices in Scotland rose sharply in the three months to October.  The number of transactions, however, remains subdued.

The Registers records every property transaction in Scotland and so provides arguably the most authoritative information on house prices, even though they appear somewhat later than other market reports.  It's latest results shows the average price of a residential property in Scotland increased by 6.1 per cent in the third quarter (July to September) of 2009 and is now £154,453.
 
The volume of sales was up by almost a quarter (23.8 per cent) compared to the previous three months, but remained almost 20 per cent down on the same time last year.

Despite the recovery in prices over the last three months, they remain slightly below the levels seen at this time last year.  Prices in Glasgow are down by just 0.5 per cent compared to a year ago and, across Scotland, are down by an estimated 3.6 per cent.  Although the figures from the Registers do not show it, prices are also well below their peak at the end of 2007.  GSPC estimates that average selling prices are now around 7.5 per cent below their all time high.

The figures also show the patchy nature of the market recovery.  Some areas, such as Argyll and Bute and East Renfrewshire, have seen prices recover to the point at which they are slightly higher now than they were a year.  But other areas, notably Inverclyde, have seen prices fall quite sharply, down by 18.3 per cent on a year ago in this case.  These areas, however, tend to be those that experienced the effects of the downturn latest. 

It is possible that those areas with the most positive figures now have been through the worst and are seeing signs of recovery while those areas who entered the downturn last have yet to see that recovery.