The average Scottish house price has risen by more than 13% in just three months to the highest value since records began.
Registers of Scotland (RoS) yesterday published statistics for the fourth quarter of 2014-15, revealing that every local authority area in Scotland enjoyed a record increase in property values between January and March.
The average house price has risen to £173,830 – the highest figure recorded for any quarter since RoS began compiling quarterly statistics in 2003 – as prices soared by 13.3% compared to the same period last year.
The Orkney Islands recorded the biggest annual change – 23.1% – with people paying, on average, £133,717 for a property.
Aberdeenshire now contains some of the most expensive properties in Scotland, with buyers paying out more than £241,000 per house.
However, despite the jump in values, there was a 4.7% drop in the number of sales – the second consecutive quarter to record a fall.
The most significant drop occurred in Orkney, where the number of sales dropped by -25%.
This was followed by Shetland which fell by -15.6% and the Highlands with a -11.8% drop.
Aberdeen City recorded a -0.1% fall, Aberdeenshire -5.5% and Moray -15%.
Hugh Welsh, head of data at RoS, said the experts must wait until the next quarter to establish whether the record rises were a “one-off”.
“Future sales statistics will determine whether this is a one-off spike in quarter four average prices or whether this is a trend that will continue,” he said.
Edinburgh recorded both the highest average at £260,647 – a rise of 21.4% – and the highest volume of sales, with 2,123 property sold.
