According to the latest monthly house price index from Walker Fraser Steele, the average house price in Scotland now stands at £212,832.

This September, the firm has seen the upward momentum continue. Scotland’s average house price at the end of September stands at £212,832, which sets yet another record, having risen by some £2,200 - or 1.0% - in the month.

Five local authority areas in September were responsible for 58% of the positive movement in Scotland’s average house price.

The five areas concerned, in order of influence, were South Lanarkshire, the City of Edinburgh, Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire and Highland.

More generally prices rose in 19 of the 32 Local Authority areas in Scotland. The largest increase in average prices, of 6.3%, was in Inverclyde.

In second place on the mainland was East Dunbartonshire, with an increase in prices of 5.2%. There were plenty of high-value sales in East Dunbartonshire, with a number of detached sales taking place in Bearsden – located approximately six miles to the North West of Glasgow – the most expensive being on the Roman Road, priced at £1.3 million.

Alan Penman, business development manager at Walker Fraser Steele, said: “This underlines how property at the top-end continues to underpin this growth as people opt for more space and continue to embrace working from home. September often provides momentum to the market too as it is not untypical for families to reassess their needs as the new school year gets underway.”

John Tindale, Acadata senior housing analyst, added: “It doesn’t come as too much of a surprise to learn that house prices rose in September. Looking at the last seventeen years, house prices in Scotland have increased on thirteen occasions in September. Estate Agents frequently mention that housing activity picks up towards the end of the school holidays, as families potentially reassess their housing needs at the start of the new school year.

“In addition, this year we also have the added impetus of the lifestyle changes associated with the pandemic and ‘working from home’, which has brought about a shift in housing preferences for larger properties, with space for home-working becoming a prime requirement.”

He concluded: “The demand for larger premises has continued throughout September, and for some includes moving to Scotland from London, or from other major cities in the UK and beyond. However, the supply of larger homes coming to the market currently remains relatively low, which results in strong competition for those properties that do become available, hence keeping prices high.”