HOUSE prices in Scotland have continued to grow despite a drop in the number of sales, according to new figures.

The average cost of a property in Scotland in November was £145,992 – an increase of 3.6 per cent on the previous year and 1.1 per cent on October. However, the latest UK House Price Index also shows the amount sold in September was 9,323, a decrease of 2.5 per cent on that month in 2016 and a decrease of 0.5 per cent compared to August.

Registers of Scotland business development and information director Kenny Crawford said: “Average prices have been steadily increasing each month since March 2016, when compared with the same month of the previous year.

“Residential sales volumes decreased in September. The annual decrease [in residential sales volumes] of 2.5 per cent when compared with September 2016 in Scotland is in the context of greater decreases across the rest of the UK.

“The cumulative volume of sales for Scotland for the financial year to date, from April to September 2017, was 54,893. This is an increase of 9.1 per cent on the equivalent year to date position for September 2016.”

The top five local authorities for sales were the City of Edinburgh with 1,124 sales, Glasgow City with 1,067, Fife with 706, South Lanarkshire with 595 and North Lanarkshire with 451.

Average price increases were recorded in three-quarters of all council areas in November, compared with the previous year.

The biggest growths were in West Dunbartonshire, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh – 10.3 per cent to £106,216, 8.1 per cent to £217,106 and eight per cent to £246,508 respectively.

Aberdeen City and Argyll and Bute saw the largest decreases, where prices fell by 4.2 per cent to £163,489 and 3.9 per cent to £127,373 respectively.

Across Scotland, flats and maisonettes showed the biggest increase, rising by 7.2 per cent to £108,881. The average price of detached properties showed a drop of 3.6 per cent to £235,744.