Scottish house prices have risen again, leading to calls for the provision of more affordable and rented homes.

Figures released this week by Lloyds TSB Scotland showed that while prices rose, the level of actual house sales had fallen.

The Scottish House Price Monitor reported that quarterly figures to the end of July increased by 1.6 per cent, making the average house price £172,185.

However, it showed that the number of house purchases had dropped 27 per cent since last year.
Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist at Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: "The price boom of the last five years may well have passed into history but so far the effect of its demise is to slow the number of transactions rather than cause a drop in prices.

"The Scottish housing market is demonstrating its traditional resilience in the face of an economic downturn."

Aberdeen recorded a strong annual increase of 8.8 per cent despite experiencing a quarterly fall of 2.8 per cent.

Dundee kept its strong position despite showing a second quarterly fall of 5.2 per cent, thanks to its overall annual increase of 9.4 per cent.

Central, Fife, Perth and Tayside prices remained static throughout the most recent quarter and the only cities to demonstrate an increase in their quarterly figures were Edinburgh at 1.9 per cent and Glasgow at 0.6 per cent.

However, according to housing charity, Shelter, the rise meant many still struggled to get on the property ladder.

Director Graeme Brown said: "For many would be first time buyers an average house price of £172,000 is still way to much of a stretch, particularly when you consider the average salary is just over £22,000.

"We need to make sure we provide enough affordable homes and in particularly rented homes, so people don't have to push the limits of what they can afford, particularly in the current uncertain economic climate."