UK average house prices increased by 9.6% over the year to March 2015, up from an increase of 7.4% in the year to February 2015. This is the first increase in the pace of annual UK house price inflation since September 2014.
House price annual inflation was 9.4% in England, 5.7% in Wales, 14.6% in Scotland and 7.5% in Northern Ireland.
The number of mortgages for house sales in Scotland increased by approximately 50% between February and March 2015. A significant proportion of this increase in sales was for houses costing more than £500,000.
These factors, along with a relatively small annual increase in Scotland prices of 0.8% in March 2014, have led to the price index for Scotland increasing by 14.6% when compared to a year earlier. It should also be noted that the land and buildings transaction tax replaced UK stamp duty land tax in Scotland from 1 April 2015, which may have had an impact on the increase in prices.
Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in the East (11.4%), London (11.2%) and the South East (11.2%). Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 8.1% in the 12 months to March 2015.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 1.1% between February and March 2015.
In March 2015, prices paid by first-time buyers were 7.8% higher on average than in March 2014. For owner-occupiers (existing owners), prices increased by 10.3% for the same period
Alex Gosling, CEO, online estate agents HouseSimple.com, commented:
"Buyer interest has picked up noticeably in the past week. We will have to wait and see if this is just a slingshot effect of the General Election.
"The issue over the past few months has never really been about demand, because the buyers have always been there.
"It's supply that is holding the market back, and more activity won't lead to sales unless the stock shortage is addressed.
"Now the Election is over, the hope is that sellers will have more confidence in market conditions, and there won't be any reasons for them not to proceed."
Jonathan Hopper, managing director of buying agents Garrington Property Finders, added:
"The fact that these strong price gains were driven in part by limited supply shouldn't detract from the housing market's achievement.
"This pre-election snapshot shows that house prices in England and Scotland hit record levels in March. While sales volumes were down as many sellers sat on their hands - and waited out the result of the election - demand remained constant.
"But since the election the picture is changing rapidly. The supply of good homes for sale has unblocked as sellers come off the fence, and we've returned to a much more free-flowing market.
"Demand is even stronger now the electoral uncertainty is past, and even though supply has improved dramatically there is more than enough momentum to keep driving prices higher."
