Scottish house prices rise but market remains sluggish

SCOTLAND'S housing market is showing signs of further recovery, new government figures revealed today.

Statistics released by the Registers of Scotland show house prices for the third quarter of this year - between July and September - rose by six per cent compared to the previous three months.

The average cost of a house in Scotland now stands at £154,453 compared to £154,453 for the last quarter.

However, house prices in Scotland are still down on last year's totals .

Figures for the third quarter of 2009 are 3.6 per cent down on the same period in 2008.

Perth and Kinross showed the largest rise from the previous quarter with prices rising by an an average of 15%.

Renfrewshire showed the smallest sign of recovery, with prices falling by 3.7%.

The total value of sales across Scotland topped £3,103 million – an increase of 31.4% from the previous quarter of 2009 – but there were nearly 5000 fewer sales than in the third quarter of 2008, a drop of 22.6%.

The figures covered all residential sales in Scotland, including cash sales and sales that do not include a mortgage.