HOUSE prices are on the rise in Scotland with some areas reporting double-digit increases in the value of property.
More than £5,000 was added onto the price of an average home between December 2013 and Christmas 2014, while the number of sales also hit a six-year high.
Estate agents say that the property market is now building on "strong foundations" as the recovery from the crash of 2008 continues to gather pace.
The Scottish Government has also hailed the "positive signs" in the figures, which are contained in the Registers of Scotland (RoS) latest quarterly report.
The average house price between October and December 2014 was £165,197, up 3.4 per cent on the same period in the previous year and the highest third quarter figure since RoS began compiling house price statistics in 2003.
In the last three months of 2014 there were £4.2 billion of property sales, up 3.1 per cent on 2013.
However, the number of properties changing hands during the quarter fell by 0.3 per cent, the first decrease in the volume of sales since 2012.
This is despite 2014 being a bumper year for transactions with 93,901 properties sold, an increase of a round 10,000 on the year before.
The highest average price was in Aberdeenshire at £232,331, while the majority of house sales took place in Edinburgh with 2,924 transactions worth £656 million.
House prices rose by 0.3 per cent in Glasgow, to £129,710. The biggest increase on the mainland was found in North Ayrshire, where the value of property increased by 17.1 per cent to an average of £124,260.
Faisal Choudhry, Associate Director and head of Scottish Research at Savills, said: "The property market is continuing its recovery thanks to an increase in mortgage lending, government initiatives such as Help to Buy, a better economy overall and and increase in house building and more houses available generally."
"There was strong year-on-year growth during the first half of 2014, and then a slowdown as the tighter restrictions of the mortgage market review came into play.
"There was also the impact of the referendum, which was a factor in the drop in sales of six per cent in December.
"These are deals which would normally have begun in September and concluded in December, but which were put on hold until the outcome of the referendum became clear."
Dr. John Boyle, Rettie & Co's Director of Research, added: "These latest statistics show that the housing market in Scotland improved fairly solidly over 2014 as a whole, continuing the growth seen from mid-2013 and due to improving economic activity levels, consumer sentiment, bank lending and new build activity.
"First time buyers have also returned to the market in larger numbers, which has been a major factor behind getting the market moving at all levels.
"It appears that the Independence Referendum has had some impact in slowing down the overall market. These statistics are for the end of 2014, but many of the sales will have missived up to 3 months earlier, which takes us back to the Referendum period.
Although demand pressures are seeing house prices rise, prices in Scotland remain down on 2007 levels in real terms."
All property types apart from detached houses showed an increase in average price during the quarter, the largest being in semi-detached properties at 5.5 per cent.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said that housing continues to be a priority for this Government.
He said: We are investing over £1.7 billion to deliver our target of 30,000 affordable homes during the lifetime of this Parliament.
"We are also easing housing pressures by working with partners to develop innovative funding approaches, including our National Housing Trust initiative and investment in charitable bonds."
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