Average house price rises

THE AVERAGE house price in Shetland grew by 2.6 per cent in the last year, according to new figures.

Data released by House Price Index Scotland reveals the average house price in Shetland is now £136,523.

However, the average price dropped by 4.2 per cent in the month between August and September this year.

Across Scotland, house prices saw a 0.6 per cent average monthly rise to £170,762, while the annual change was an increase of 2.5 per cent.

Aberdeenshire had an annual decrease of 4.2 per cent, while Orkney’s yearly change was a rise of 3.1 per cent.

Robert Bell from estate agent Harper MacLeod warned that Shetland’s monthly figures are likely to be skewed due to the small amount of properties sold.

He added that the isles’ market has had “good figures” this year.

“It’s been very buoyant for a long, long period of time. The market is not quite the same as that now, but overall I would say it is still increasing, but perhaps at a lower amount,” Bell said.

“Part of the difficulty in Shetland is that it has been so good for so long, so if anything comes along that’s not quite as good then some people say it is doom and gloom.

“That’s not actually our experience at all – it’s just not quite as good as it was.”

Bell added that while the downturn in the oil industry has “undoubtedly” had an effect on the market, it has not had a massive impact.

“I don’t think anybody would be at all surprised if there wasn’t some effect from that,” he said. “Aberdeen seems to have been hit much worse than we have been.”