New figures show that Scotland's housing market - one of the slowest to recovery from past downturns - is bouncing back.
The total number of homes sold between the start of January and end of March rose by almost 30 per cent when calculated on an annual basis, meaning that first quarter sales were at their highest level since 2008. Seller activity was also on the rise, with the number of homes coming onto the market 12.9 per cent higher than was the case in 2013.
The faster growth in demand compared to new instructions has pushed prices up - the average Scottish house price is £178,339 - 5.3 per cent higher than a year ago.
However, figures from the Solicitors Property Centre Scotland show that prices almost everywhere remain below their previous peaks and that 5.3 per cent rise is below the UK average indicated in many all-UK indices.
And while southern England has growing numbers of sales above the asking prices, in many cases in Scotland buyers are still managing to negotiate discounts against Home Report valuation.
Moreover, the number of properties selling is still around 15 to 20 per cent below 2007-8 levels.
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