HOUSE prices in Scotland showed a slight rise last year, although the overall market remains muted, a new report has said.
The latest figures from the Lloyds TSB Scotland Scottish House Price Monitor show prices rose by 0.2% during the past 12 months.
While the number of properties changing hands remained low, a small rise in the number of people buying and selling property has helped fuel growth.
The survey found that, during the last three months of 2012, the number of transactions increased by of 2.7% compared to the same period in 2011.
The average house price now stands at £151,320, meaning that a standard Scottish property is worth 89% of its peak value at the beginning of 2008.
Donald MacRae, chief economist with Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: "The Scottish housing market had adjusted to the recession with a halving of sales and a period of price volatility.
"There is evidence of a pick-up in the number of houses bought and sold in the last quarter of 2012. "
However, while there has been some growth at the lower end of the housing market, fewer homes in Scotland changed hands for more than £1 million.
A Registers of Scotland report said 35% fewer properties topped the £1m mark last year compared to 2008. Across Scotland 141 homes sold for seven figures in 2012, with the majority in Edinburgh where 53 changed hands.
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