Falkirk house prices rose in March

The boost contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 19.2 per cent annual growth – the highest in Scotland.

The average Falkirk house price in March was £161,602, Land Registry figures show – a 3.4 per cent increase on February.

Over the month, the picture was better than that across Scotland, where prices remained static, and Falkirk outperformed the 0.3 per cent rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in Falkirk rose by £26,000 – putting the area top among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

At the other end of the scale, properties in Aberdeen gained just 0.1% in value, giving an average price of £143,000.

Owners of terraced houses saw the biggest improvement in property prices in Falkirk in March – they increased 3.6 per cent, to £131,833 on average.

Over the last year, prices rose by 18.7 per cent.

First-time buyers in Falkirk spent an average of £133,000 on their property – £20,000 more than a year ago, and £41,000 more than in March 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £194,000 on average in March – 46.4 per cent more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 10.9 per cent less than the average price in Scotland (£181,000) in March for a property in Falkirk.

The most expensive properties in Scotland were in Edinburgh – £323,000 on average, and twice as much more than in Falkirk.