Compared to the previous month, house prices in Scotland increased by 1.3% on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, whilst on a seasonally adjusted basis there was an increase of 0.7%.

In Scotland, detached houses showed the highest annual percentage change out of all property types, increasing by 6.7% in the 12 months to January 2024 to £343,000. Flats showed the lowest annual percentage change, increasing by 2.7% in the 12 months to January 2024 to £130,000.

Average prices for local authorities are based on a 3-month moving average to help remove some of the volatility in the series. Increases were recorded in 26 out of 32 local authority areas, when comparing prices with the previous year. The largest increase was in Midlothian where the average price increased by 8.3% to £241,000. The largest decrease was recorded in Argyll and Bute, where the average price decreased by 6.2% to £179,000.

In January 2024, the highest-priced area to purchase a property was the City of Edinburgh, where the average price was £326,000. In contrast, the lowest-priced area to purchase a property was Inverclyde, where the average price was £126,000.

The volume of residential sales in Scotland in November 2023 was 7,886. When compared with the first published figures for November 2022 this was an annual decrease of 11.1%.

A Registers of Scotland spokesperson said: “There was an increase of 4.8% (to £190,000) in the average house price for Scotland in the 12 months to January 2024. This compares to a decrease of 0.6% (to £282,000) in average house prices for the UK as a whole.”