Scottish housing market 'growing'
House prices across Scotland are continuing to rise, according to a new survey.
The Lloyds TSB Scotland House Price Monitor claims that in the quarter up to January 31st, house prices in Scotland appreciated on average by 2.4 per cent to £132,433. Dundee and Aberdeen were the only areas to record quarterly falls, while Glasgow experienced the greatest quarterly rise with a price increase of 9.3 per cent. All areas covered in the report, including the south-west, south-east and north Scotland had annual price increases. Dundee and Aberdeen experienced the greatest underlying increases, with growth of 34 per cent and 24 per cent respectively. Professor Donald McCrae, Lloyds TSB Scotland's chief economist, said: "The economic slowdown affecting the UK has not been experienced to the same degree in Scotland. "Consumer confidence remains relatively high, while claimant unemployment is low, with overall economic growth prospects at between 1.75 and two per cent for 2006." The Council of Mortgage Lenders this week claimed that mortgage lending in January, totalling £23 billion, was the highest January figure on record.

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