Average house prices in Scotland increased by £1,600 (1%) in January, surpassing the May 2008 peak. Fife and West Lothian join the ranks of the record-breakers, setting new peak house prices in January, while Dundee City experienced the biggest price jump in January, with property values soaring 6.7% in a month.

Christine Campbell, regional managing director at Your Move, comments: “As we entered the New Year, we also moved into a new chapter of Scotland’s housing recovery. Thousands of homeowners are finally able to turn their backs on the housing crash, as Scottish house prices break cover from under the clouds of the recession.

“As of January 2015, the average home in Scotland is now worth £1,238 more than at the peak of the housing boom in May 2008, following hardy annual growth of 4.5% and an energetic boost on a monthly basis at the start of 2015. Property values jumped 1% in January, the most significant monthly upswing we’ve witnessed for seven months, taking the typical house price to a new record high of £166,771. The city of Dundee had the most energetic start to the year, with prices soaring 6.7% (equal to £8,161) during January 2015, in the largest month-on-month increase in Scotland.”