A NEW report has highlighted a property boom that has seen house prices rocket during the Covid pandemic.

Average prices in both Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire have soared at a significantly higher rate than those in Scotland as a whole in the past year.

According to latest figures from the UK House Price Index, the average cost of a home in Renfrewshire jumped by 10.3 per cent from £123,397 in January 2020 to £136,052 in January this year – a rise of more than £12,500.

And there was an even bigger increase in East Renfrewshire, where average prices leapt by 11.8 per cent from £223,534 to £250,021 over the same period – up by almost £26,500.

By contrast, the increase in Scotland as a whole was 6.9 per cent, with an average price of £164,009.

Only Edinburgh (£280,204) and East Lothian (£253,018) had higher average prices than East Renfrewshire.

And there were just two council areas that recorded a larger increase in prices – Shetland Islands (14.2 per cent) and East Ayrshire (13.1 per cent).

The smallest increase in Scotland was recorded in Aberdeen, where values went up by just 1.6 per cent, while the cheapest area to buy was East Ayrshire, where the average price was £107,121, despite a large rise since 2020.

Latest figures also highlight a busier property market in both Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.

A total of 461 properties were sold in Renfrewshire in November 2020, compared to 385 in the same month the previous year, while the number sold in East Renfrewshire increased from 175 to 190.

Janet Egdell, of Registers of Scotland, which is responsible for compiling registers relating to property, said: “The latest report shows that prices rose in all parts of Scotland and sales volumes remained high but it is too early to be certain if this is evidence of the market catching up from earlier in the year or whether it will be sustained into the next financial year.”