THE property markets in Edinburgh and Aberdeen were second only to London in growth this year as the average cost of a home increased by more than £20,000 in those areas, according to a new report.

Average property prices across the country have risen by an average of six per cent over the past year to now stand at £268,895, property website Zoopla said.

But in Scotland's capital, there was an 11.8 per cent rise to £261,688 and Aberdeen also performed significantly better than other areas such as Newcastle, Bristol and Southampton, with an average property costing £245,411, 9.7 per cent above the value this time last year.

Both cities north of the border were behind London, where the average property now costs £603,724.

Lawrence Hall, of Zoopla, said: "The property market has maintained its momentum during 2014 with price increases across most of the country despite initial concerns that the spate of regulatory policies designed to prevent risky lending would curb demand.

"More regions this year saw property prices increase compared with last year, indicating that the property market recovery continues and that the buoyancy will likely continue into 2015."

The majority of house price growth over 2014 was seen in the first half of the year, with prices having risen by only 1.4 per cent since June.

Growth has not been even across the country, however, with the south experiencing bigger increases than the north.

The London property market in particular has been boiling over with a 15 per cent spike in average house prices in the capital over the last 12 months, equivalent to an increase of £81,619 in value. An average home in the capital now comes with a price tag of more than £603,000.

The South East region enjoyed nine per cent growth during 2014 with the average property across the region now valued at £346,409.

According to the Zoopla research, Scotland is now the fifth most expensive region to buy a home - after London, the South East, East and South West of England.

They found that an average home in Scotland costs £179,627 in December this year, up by more than £11,000 in the past year.

Dundee was also one of the top 10 performing cities in terms of their average price increase, with an eight per cent increase taking a property to £160,963.

Growth elsewhere in Scotland fell somewhere between 3.1 per cent and 6.8 per cent.

However, no Scottish cities fell into the worst performing category either.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have previously forecast house prices in Scotland to increase by four per cent next year as demand continues to outstrip supply and changes to tax rules boost property values.

However, some within the property industry have warned that the introduction of the land and building transaction tax, which will replace stamp duty in April, will harm the top end of the market where buyers will face paying more when the new regime comes into force.