City house prices up by 10 per cent

Average house prices in Scotland have continued to rise with Edinburgh seeing the biggest increase over the last 12 months.

Property prices are up almost 10 per cent in Edinburgh

The average value of a home in the city soared by almost 10 per cent to £243,920 last month.

The property boom in the capital is outstripping that seen across the rest of Scotland where average prices rose 5 per cent to £149,185 in July.

The latest figures from the UK house price index (UK HPI) showed average July prices were also up 2.8% on the previous month.

This compares to a UK average of £226,185, an increase of 5.1% on the previous year and 1.1% on the previous month.

Meanwhile, the average price for property purchased by a first time buyer in July was £120,630 - an increase of 4.1% compared to the same month in the previous year.

The data also shows a rise in residential sales in May, up to 8,241.

Registers of Scotland business development and information director Kenny Crawford said: “This represents the biggest percentage increase year-on-year since March 2015.”