May marked the longest period of sustained monthly price growth in Scotland since before the crisis, with the average Scottish house price now at £162,302.
Prices were up 0.5 per cent from April and up 4.3 per cent since May 2013, in a recovery which is strengthening across the country.
However May sale volumes fell three per cent as the market adjusted to the Mortgage Market Review and stricter borrowing criteria.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said the view of the Scottish housing market recovery depended on whether average price or sale volumes were taken into account.
“We are now seeing the longest sustained period of price growth in seven years. Prices have not climbed so steadily every month since December 2007.”
Sexton said first-time buyers were providing a solid foundation for the recovery, with the number of flats and terraced houses sold increasing by around a quarter in the three months to May. Both are typical property choices for first-timers.
“The only fly in the ointment is a decline in total house sales, dropping 3 per cent from April to May 2014. This goes against the historic seasonal trend for this time of year, suggesting that tighter regulations under the Mortgage Market Review have temporarily slowed housing transactions.
“But with recurrent indications that interest rates will rise before the year is out, new record property prices being set, and only three months to go before the Independence referendum, potential buyers may also be taking heed of caution and delaying purchase decisions until they can be clear what the future holds.”
