Scotland bucks national house price trend

A survey by the UK's largest building society has found that, not only has Scotland experienced the smallest fall in house prices over the past year, but the country has also recorded elevated property prices in the final quarter.

Nationwide's figures have revealed that in 2008, while average house prices dropped in Northern Ireland and England by 32.4% and 14.8% respectively, the average price of a home in Scotland only declined by 8.1% in comparison.

The mortgage lender's statistics showed that between October and December 2008, Scottish house prices went up by 0.1%, while the average price of a UK home decreased by an average of 4.4%; subsequently making properties in Scotland the only ones in the UK to show an increase in value during this period.

The average cost of a home in Scotland now stands at £138,941, with the most expensive region being Edinburgh where the average price of a property is £241,617, and the most affordable area being Fife where buyers spend approximately £131,565 on a home.

Source: The Scotsman | Last updated: 6th January 2009

View property news archive »