HOUSE prices in Scotland fell in the final quarter of last year, official figures show.

The 1% drop takes the average house price in Scotland to £158,360, according to the Registers of Scotland.

This was down from £159,981 in the previous quarter.

But the small decrease is in line with how the market behaved in previous years in the final quarter.

However, average house prices rose by 10.7% over the year.

Last year also had higher volumes of sales than any other year since Registers of Scotland started its quarterly reports in 2001.

Lothian region again recorded the highest average price for a house £195,895.

The highest year-on-year increase, at 24%, was in the Grampian area, where the average house price is now £183,808.

The Glasgow area remains the largest market, with sales just over £2billion for the quarter, up 10.8% (£196m) over the same period in 2006.