NEW analysis of the latest official ONS figures has revealed where Scotland has had the biggest increase in average house prices.
The analysis discovered that the Outer Hebrides has had the UK’s biggest increase in average house price in the past five years.
The study by IVA Advice found that the average price of a house there in February 2021 was £132,397, compared to £87,494 in February 2016, representing an increase of 51.32%.
Despite the increase, the average house price in Na h-Eileanan Siar is still among the 30 lowest price areas in the UK, and more than £100,000 lower than the UK average house cost.
The second highest increase in house prices was Newport in Wales.
Here the average price jumped by 46.9% in comparison to five years ago.
The average in February 2016 was £142,820, while in February this year it stood at £211,332.
Salford has seen the third highest increase in average house prices over the past five years, with 44%.
This February the average cost of a home stood at £186,600, whereas in 2016, house hunters could expect to pay £129,563.
The UK’s property price hotspots over the past five years, by IVA Advice
| Rank | Region | Average house price, February 2021 | Increase compared to February 2016 |
| 1 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | £132,397.23 | 51.32% |
| 2 | Newport | £211,332.42 | 46.94% |
| 3 | Salford | £186,600.89 | 44.02% |
| 4 | Leicester | £206,755.25 | 43.31% |
| 5 | Merthyr Tydfil | £129,081.85 | 42.70% |
Alongside average house price increases, the IVA Advice study also investigated drops in value.
Overall, out of more than 400 areas included in the analysis, just eight areas had a drop in average house price compared to February 2016.
Five of them were London boroughs: Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden (0.56% decrease), Tower Hamlets (1.03% decrease), Kensington and Chelsea (5.72% decrease), City of London (11.79%).
However, the City of Aberdeen had the biggest reduction compared to five years ago.
In February 2016, the average house price in the city was £195,492, but it has since fallen by 19.88% to £142,874.
Hammersmith and Fulham in London have seen the second biggest drop of 14.65%.
The average house price in February 2021 was £659,864, but in 2016 it was £773,192.
The average house price in Hyndburn in Lancashire dropped by 1.6% to £92,173, compared to £93,683 in February 2016.
That makes the borough the home of the cheapest average house price in the UK, alongside Burnley, where the average house price is £95,371, the only places in the UK where the average house costs less than £100,000.
Across the UK, the average house price in February 2016 was £205,555, while the latest figures stand at £250,340 – an increase of 21.78%.
Comparing the four nations of the UK, Wales has seen the biggest increase in average house price over the past five years going from £142,711 in 2016, to £179,860 in 2021.
Northern Ireland isn’t far behind, with the average price rising from £118,850 to £147,592.
England’s average house price has gone from £220,626 to £268,291.
Scotland has seen the lowest rise, 19.98%, as the average cost of a house in 2016 was £134,625, compared to £161,529 now.
