Falkirk district house prices increased slightly in April

But the 0.2 per cent rise does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area suffer a 2.3 per cent annual decline. The average Falkirk house price in April was £158,131, Land Registry figures show – a 0.2 per cent increase on March.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across Scotland, where prices increased 1.3 per cent, and Falkirk was lower than the 0.5 per cent rise for the UK as a whole. Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Falkirk fell by £3,800 – putting the area 30th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

The highest annual growth was in East Lothian, where property prices increased on average by 17.2 per cent, to £334,000. At the other end of the scale, properties in Na h-Eileanan Siar lost 7.4 per cent of their value, giving an average price of £148,000.

First-time buyers in Falkirk spent an average of £129,900 on their property – £3,200 less than a year ago, but £30,500 more than in April 2018. By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £189,200 on average in April – 45.6 per cent more than first-time buyers. Owners of flats saw the biggest rise in property prices in the district in April – they increased 0.5 per cent, to £88,198 on average. Over the last year, prices dropped by 3.3 per cent.

Buyers paid 15.5 per cent less than the average price in Scotland (£187,000) in April for a property in Falkirk. Across Scotland, property prices are low compared to those across the UK, where the average cost is £286,000. The most expensive properties in Scotland were in East Lothian – £334,000 on average, and 2.1 times the price as in Falkirk.