Scotland`s housing boom shows little sign of cooling, with property prices rising by double the rate of the rest of the UK in the last quarter.
The latest Bank of Scotland quarterly Scottish House Price Index shows Edinburgh remains the single most expensive place to buy, with the average house now costing just over £205,189, an increase of 11 per cent on the last year.
Across the board, bungalows in Scotland have seen the strongest growth, followed by detached homes, then flats.
The overall increase has reached towns like the former Fife mining community of Lochgelly, long troubled by endemic unemployment. Property here has at last gone through the £100,000 barrier, although it is still the most affordable town in Britain.
The average price of a property in Scotland - £138,655 - means the country is still languishing behind the UK average of £192,314. However, the gap is narrowing as buyers from outside Scotland continue to target detached country properties and the commuter "ripple" effect from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen sends families farther afield in search of affordable homes.

Scotsman, Mon 23 April 2007