HOUSE prices increased by 1.6% in the Scottish Borders in June, new figures show.

The rise contributes to the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area grow by 13.5% over the last year.

The average Scottish Borders house price in June was £199,950, Land Registry figures show – a 1.6% increase on May.

Over the month, the picture was different to that across Scotland, where prices increased 2.2%, but the Scottish Borders was above the 1% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Scottish Borders rose by £24,000 – putting the area 15th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

An imbalance between supply and demand for properties has remained the primary reason behind climbing house prices across the UK throughout the pandemic.

But activity is starting to slow, with soaring inflation putting household budgets under pressure.

First-time buyers in the Scottish Borders spent an average of £155,000 on their property – £17,000 more than a year ago, and £36,000 more than in June 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £236,000 on average in June – 52.2% more than first-time buyers.

Owners of detached houses saw the biggest rise in property prices in the Scottish Borders in June – they increased 1.9%, to £345,698 on average. Over the last year, prices rose by 16.5%.

Among other types of property: Semi-detached houses were up 1.5% monthly; up 14.9% annually; £206,800 average, terraced houses were up 1.8% monthly; up 13.8% annually; £171,019 average and flats were up 1.3% monthly; up 9.8% annually; £108,509 average

Buyers paid 4% more than the average price in Scotland (£192,000) in June for a property in the Scottish Borders. Across Scotland, property prices are higher than those across the UK, where the average cost £286,000.