© Evening Times
Originally published: 03.10.2008

House prices in Scotland fell £7500 in the last quarter - a drop of £82 each day, according to a report.

The latest figures from Nationwide Building Society confirm Scotland's runaway housing boom is finally over.

The mortgage lender said Scottish average house prices fell 5-per cent between July and September, against a 4.6-per cent decline across the UK.

Prices in Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire were down 8-per cent from the previous year.

The largest drop was in Renfrewshire and In-verclyde, which fell 10-per cent.

It means the average Scottish house price has fallen from £150,000 to £142,500.

Scots prices were down 7.1-per cent on a year ago - the slowest rate of decline in the UK. Across the whole UK, there was an annual 12.4-per cent fall in prices.

Fionnula Earley, the society's chief economist , said it was "no surprise" Scotland was starting to follow the same downward trend.

"Scotland was never going to be completely immune from what has going on in the rest of the economy, " she said.

"People's confidence in the housing market, and the way they feel about whether they should enter the market, has changed in just the same way as the rest of the UK."

Edinburgh was one of the few UK cities where prices were holding up.

However, it still saw a 3-per cent decline. Aberdeenshire and Moray had a 2-per cent fall.

But the report said it was not all doom and gloom. It expects the Scottish property market to be more resilient than the rest of the UK.

Fionnula Earley added: "Scotland is still much better than the rest of the UK in terms of house price to earnings ratio and the general affordability of property.

"However, people are beginning to be more realistic about where the economy is going.

"People are beginning to wonder about jobs and that is affecting how they feel about other things - about whether now is the time to stay put and get their finances in order."