Scotland’s residential property sales totalled just under £18.7 billion in 2019 — up £550 million on 2018 — helped by a late surge in sales after the UK general election.

That’s according to the latest Aberdein Considine Property Monitor.

The report said more than 10,000 Scottish homes changed hands in December, a jump of 15% on November and the highest month of sales recorded since October 2018.

Jacqueline Law, Managing Partner at Aberdein Considine, said: “After a year of political and economic uncertainty, it would appear that the decisive nature of the election result has brought a fresh wave of confidence to the property marke.

“And while Scottish votes contributed little to the Prime Minister’s parliamentary majority, it looks like the country’s homeowners may well benefit in the years ahead.

“You have to go back to December 2007, before the global credit crunch, to find a higher month of pre-Christmas property sales.

“As we head into the spring market, there is every sign that this trend will continue, thanks largely to an injection of first-time buyers using new shared equity schemes.”

The report said first-time buyers accounted for 50% of mortgaged property purchases in Scotland last year.

“Up to 6,000 more are expected to take advantage of the Scottish Government’s new First Home Fund in 2020,” said Aberdein Considine.

“The shared equity scheme gives buyers up to £25,000 towards the cost of buying a home and is forecast to be a driving force in the market this year.”

East Lothian has become the most expensive place in Scotland to buy a home.

The average sale price in the region is now £267,905, more than £2,000 higher than second-placed Edinburgh.