The firm said that between March 2020 and November 2021 (the latest month for which there is data) average property prices in Scotland rose by 21.3%. This compares with an average price increase in Wales of 19.6%; in the UK by 16.3%, and in England 15.6% over the same period.

The greatest increase in Scotland occurred in Inverclyde which saw average prices increase by 29.7% followed by Argyll at 28.7%; South Ayrshire at 25.5%; East Ayrshire 25.3%; and South Lanarkshire 24.8%.

The lowest increases were in Aberdeen which rose by 5.8%; Aberdeenshire at 7.9%; Edinburgh at 15.4%; East Renfrewshire 15.6%: while Angus increased by 16.0%.

David Alexander, the chief executive officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, said that these figures reveal just how lively the Scottish housing market has been during the pandemic.

He added that yhe assumption at the start of the pandemic was that property prices would probably be flat or only rising slightly but they have been, and continue to be, the surprise story of the last 21 months.

Mr Alexander said: “The increases across the country reveal that this has been a Scotland-wide phenomenon with some areas really taking off due to a mixture of shifting buying patterns, high demand, and low stock levels. You could easily argue that the large price increases in Inverclyde, Argyll and Bute, South Ayrshire and others adjacent areas indicates a shift of people moving to larger properties just outside Glasgow as a result of the pandemics’ working from home policy. Whether this pattern holds when people start to return to the workplace (as indicated by the First Minister this week) will become apparent in the coming months.”

“But it is clear that the figures reveal quite disparate market performance across different parts of the country. Glasgow’s property market, and the surrounding areas, has been booming during the pandemic with a quite extraordinary average price increase of 23.3%. However, Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire show the lowest rises, and this reflects the continued uncertainty, unrelated to Covid, over the future of the oil and gas sector and until this situation is clarified then house prices are likely to remain flat or with limited growth.”

He added: “While Edinburgh’s growth may seem modest since it is near the bottom of the table in percentage terms this is because it started from a remarkably high base and the gap between the Scottish capital and the rest of the country remains substantial. The average property price in Edinburgh is now 73.4% higher than the average for Scotland as a whole. This price difference may also be the reason why East Lothian, Fife, and Midlothian have all experienced substantial average price rises.”

MR Alexander concluded: “While these increases are unlikely to be sustainable in the long term, they are a pleasing sign that we are coming out of the pandemic with a robust property market which has remained strong despite the tough times we have all been living through. What happens in the coming year for property remains unpredictable and will be determined by how well and how quickly the Scottish economy recovers and returns to normal.”