HOUSE prices have more than doubled in seaside towns on Scotland's north-east coast during the last eight years, new research has shown.

Despite the turmoil affecting much of the housing market since the start of the economic downturn in 2008, properties with a view of the sea have remained surprisingly buoyant.

According to the latest data from the Bank of Scotland, the average price of a home in Macduff, Aberdeenshire, has gone up by more than £70,000 since 2004, while those in nearby Fraserburgh are now worth £65,000 more than they were eight years ago.

Cove Bay in Aberdeen had the next largest rise, with an increase of 105% during the same period, from £82,416 to £169,248.

A further 18 other coastal towns in Scotland have experienced price rises of at least 50%, including Montrose, Campbeltown, Peterhead and Banff.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "Seaside towns are still very popular places to live. They offer a unique lifestyle that for many can't be matched elsewhere, with that all-important sea view, together with a typically high quality of life and a healthy environment.

"More than half of the seaside towns in this survey have seen house price growth ahead of the whole of Scotland since 2007, with most of the large increases coming in towns on the north- east coast."

The housing market in the north-east has been insulated from the stormy conditions affecting other areas thanks to the flow of money from the oil and gas industry into Aberdeen.

Experts also said coastal towns are among the most desirable places to live in Scotland and are attractive to people looking for second homes or a place to live while they commute to jobs in nearby cities and larger towns.

However, despite the property boom on the north-east coast since 2004, the average house price in seaside towns as a whole rose by 36%, slightly lower than the 38% increase in the whole of Scotland.

The research also found a marked east-west divide in house prices in Scottish seaside towns, with seven of the 10 most expensive on the east coast.

North Berwick is the most expensive seaside town in Scotland, with an average house price of £309,676, while St Andrews is the second-most expensive with an average price of £277,344, followed by Crail in Fife (£209,688), and Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire (£197,530).

Conversely, six of the 10 least expensive seaside towns are in western Scotland. They include Greenock, where the average price of a home is £85,212, Girvan (£85,961), Irvine (£89,727) and Ardrossan (£91,052).