Properties in Scotland rose sharply in Scotland in the period from January to March with property prices rising considerably as homebuyers attempted to purchase properties prior to the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
The figures, which come from Registers of Scotland (RoS) also showed that the average house price climbed by 13.3% to £173,830 making the period the highest quarterly figure since statistics began in 2003.
It was pleasant reading from those selling with the value of sales rising by 8% to £2.95bn.
RoS head of data Hugh Welsh said: "We've seen sustained growth in house prices throughout the 2014-15 financial year, with January to March's figures representing the highest quarterly increase in average price since quarter one of 2007-08.
"Future sales statistics will determine whether this is a one-off spike in quarter four average prices or whether this is a trend that will continue."
Decrease in Volume
Despite the higher average property price and the increase in the values seen across Scotland the average number of sales decreased by just under 5% to just below 15,000.
Experts believe that although there was a rush to buy properties many were not keen to enter negotiations and risk the LBTT tax. Aberdein Considine senior partner Bob Fraser said he believed the figures were a one-off and were merely a spike as people rushed to beat the new tax reform that came into effect at the start of April.
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