New official figures have revealed a sharp surge in the number of homes in Scotland sold in the last quarter.

According to the research by Registers of Scotland, a total of 24,274 properties were sold between July and September – an increase of 22.5% than the same period last year. It was also the largest quarterly figure recorded by the organisation since 2008.

Elsewhere, the average house price in Scotland also increased by 1.5%, bringing the average cost of a home to £161,748.


Year-on-year, there was a 24.4% jump in the total value of residential property sales, which reached £3.92bn.

Regionally, properties in Edinburgh had the largest price tag with the average cost of a home being recorded as £222,759, while Aberdeen reported the highest percentage price rise of 9.9% to give properties an average of just over £210,010.

The largest fall in the average price of a house was found in East Dunbartonshire, where values dropped by 8.6% to £205,122.

Kenny Crawford, Registers of Scotland Commercial Services Director, said: "This quarter's figures are one of the strongest indicators yet of a revitalised Scottish property market.

"This is the fourth consecutive quarter that volumes have increased, maintaining the upward trend."

(JP/IT)