The value of Scotland’s homes have risen by £400 a week in the two years since the start of the pandemic, new figures show.
The increase is even more pronounced for the value of high-demand detached homes, which have risen £760 week-on-week, according to Halifax research.
Scotland’s house prices also broke a new record with average house prices estimated at £194,621, but growth has slowed slightly from 9.3% in February to 8.2% in March.
The bank said the figures show that the prospect of higher fuel bills, national insurance rises, higher food costs and council tax increases has not dampened prices.
Across the country, the average price of a home rose from £239,176 in March 2020 to £282,753 — £400 a week.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “The story behind such strong house price inflation remains unchanged: limited supply and strong demand, despite the prospect of increasing pressure on household finances.”
He said that although there was some evidence that more homes were coming on to the market, the “fundamental issue” was that there were more buyers chasing fewer properties.
“The effect on house prices makes it increasingly difficult for first-time buyers looking to make their first step onto the ladder, but also challenges home movers who face ever bigger leaps to move up the rungs to a larger property,” he explained.
Galley added that in the long-term the housing market was linked to wider economic health.
“There is no doubt that households face a significant squeeze on real earnings, and the difficulty for policymakers in needing to support the economy yet contain inflation is now even more acute because of the impact of the war in Ukraine,” he said.
He continued that buyers were dealing with the prospect of higher interest rates and higher cost of living, and as affordability metrics were “already extremely stretched”, there could be a slowdown in house price inflation over the next year.