Property prices in Scotland continue to remain robust, according to figures released by Lloyds TSB Scotland.

The firm revealed that the average cost of a home north of the border stands at £168,559, with property prices increasing by 3.6 per per cent in the three months to the end of October.

Professor Donald MacRae, chief economist at the firm, said that there is not yet any evidence that house prices in Scotland will crash, explaining: "The Scottish housing market continues to show robust annual increases in excess of inflation."

Aberdeen and the north of Scotland showed the highest growth, increasing by four per cent and 9.6 per cent respectively.

Despite this, he warned that prices across the rest of the country could follow the example of those in Edinburgh, which dipped over the quarter.

"The increase in Scottish house prices needs to slow. However, this will happen as a gentle slowing in price as opposed to an abrupt fall," he said.

Optimism about the Scottish market has been further boosted by figures released by Nationwide, which predict that despite house price inflation dropping to zero per cent across the UK as a whole, prices in Scotland will actually increase by four per cent.