According to the latest Scottish House Price Monitor from Lloyds TSB Scotland, in the three months ending January 2012, the quarterly price index for the average domestic property in Scotland rose by 1.4%.

The overall price index has now risen for two consecutive quarters. However, on an annual, underlying basis, Scottish house prices have fallen by 4.2%.

Following mix adjusting, the average Scottish house price is now £155,528.

Lloyds TSB Scotland says the latest house price movement has been generated from a market with a low number of sales, however, compared to the same quarter one year ago, the number of transactions in the Monitor is up by 4%. Average prices from all areas of Scotland show a corresponding increase in volatility over the last four years.

For the market as a whole, Scottish house purchases during the last three months of 2011 were almost identical to the same period of 2010. For the month of December, the number of transactions was 3.3% up on the same month in 2010. In the last five years, the lowest number of transactions was recorded in February 2011. It seems likely that the level of activity this spring will be similar to that of last year.

Donald MacRae, chief economist, Lloyds TSB Scotland, said: “The Scottish economy exited recession at the end of 2009 with a rise in output of 0.2%. After four quarters of rising output