Scottish house prices rose 9 per cent in the year to January to reach an average price of £203,369.

The data from the Walker Fraser Steele HPI, formerly the YourMove Acadata HPI, also shows a rise of 25 per cent in property transactions in the final quarter of 2020 compared to Q4 of 2019.

Detached homes saw the highest increase in demand, with the number of such transactions rising by 34.8 per cent between Q4 2019 and the final quarter of 2020, followed by semi-detached homes with a 28.5 per cent increase.

Walker Fraser Steele business development manager Alan Penman says: “As in the rest of the UK, buyers are seeking property in country locations. Areas that continue to do well in Scotland include Aberdeenshire, Perthshire, and Ayrshire. More generally, Scotland’s housing market continues to offer exceptional value for money compared to many areas south of the border.

“Demand regionally has been fuelled by changing housing preferences as a result of the pandemic and the lockdowns of the last year. The pandemic has changed what many people want in a property and, in many cases, they are leaving big cities for smaller towns or more rural areas. Lifestyle changes and the changes to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax have worked together to help underpin the price rises of the last year.

“It is possible that the successful roll-out of the vaccination programme and the gradual relaxing of pandemic measures will, in conjunction with the extended government support for jobs, continue to underpin home-owners and buyers’ confidence.”