The property firm examined the most recent official statistics from the monthly house price index, highlighting a remarkable rise from £669,667 to £722,367 between March 2023 and February 2024. This represents a £52,700 increase over the 12-month period.

The capital was closely followed by Midlothian where average detached prices rose by £51,520 and Glasgow which increased by £47,272 over the year. The Scottish average was £18,458 with price increases in all areas except Argyll and Bute which fell £113 and Aberdeenshire where there was a fall of £924.

David Alexander, chief executive officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, commented: “Every time these figures are published you do wonder how prices could continue to rise at such a phenomenal rate but here, we are once again with the cost of buying a detached house in Edinburgh increasing by over £1,000 per week for an entire year.”

“Yet even this extraordinary increase is almost matched in Midlothian and Glasgow where it is just under £1,000 and just over £900 respectively.

“By any standards these are substantial increases in prices at a time when many have warned that the market is slowing, higher interest rates are reducing values, and people are wary of a housing market dip. Clearly the buyers of detached homes have not been listening!”

Mr Alexander concluded: “These numbers are testament to the large numbers of people in Scotland who want a detached home and want to live in our major cities and their immediate surrounding areas.

“The interesting shift is away from remote and rural properties back to large urban and suburban areas. The move to the country which occurred during COVID appears to be reversing and in many of the areas away from the central belt we can see a static or, in two areas, an actual fall in average prices.

“I would anticipate this trend continuing in the coming months and the city market remaining strong but perhaps not as buoyant as the last year.”