Scots cities top house price list

House prices have risen faster in Aberdeen and Inverness than any other UK cities over the past decade, a survey has suggested.

The Bank of Scotland report said average prices rose by 94% in the Granite City between 2002 and 2012. Inverness saw prices climb by 81%, with Dundee (+73%) and Perth (+70%) also featuring in the top five UK cities. The bank said Aberdeen had particularly sharp increases because of the importance of the oil sector.

According to the survey, cities recorded higher house price growth than the UK average over the past 10 years.

Prices in cities increased by an average of 38%, from £125,276 in 2002 to £173,322 in 2012. This compared to a 29% rise for the UK as a whole.

Northern Irish cities Lisburn and Belfast had the smallest price rises over the last 10 years, up by just 2% and 3% respectively.

The bank said this largely reflected a substantial decline in house prices across Northern Ireland since 2007.

Ely and Southampton recorded the smallest increases in England, while Stirling (+35%) and Glasgow (+45%) experienced the lowest house price growth among cities in Scotland