Prices have kept growing in Scotland over the winter months

The latest edition of the Lloyds TSB Scotland House Price Monitor calculates an average yearly rise of 18.9%.

For the second quarter running, Glasgow is showing the strongest rise in prices.

The bank has predicted that the rate of increase will begin to moderate as interest rates go up.

The research by Lloyds TSB Scotland covers the three months to January.

Prices rose by 4.5% over this traditionally quiet period, contributing to the strong year-on-year growth.

The rate of increase has eased slightly since the last edition of the research, notably in Edinburgh where the annual increase has dropped from 16% to 8%.

Economic conditions

But even this rate, which is now the lowest in Scotland, is many times greater than inflation.

The average house price in Scotland by the bank's measure is �98,198.

Average increase by area Glasgow 25% South East (excluding Edinburgh) 22% Dundee 21% Central, Fife, Perth and Tayside 19% South West (excluding Glasgow) 19% Aberdeen 18% North (excluding Aberdeen) 18% Edinburgh 8%

Professor Donald MacRae, Lloyds TSB Scotland's chief economist, said: "This latest increase shows the Scottish housing market continuing to record robust price increases fuelled by the lowest mortgage rates for almost 50 years coupled with benign economic conditions.

"Rising interest rates will help to moderate the rise in prices of 50% in the last two years to a more sustainable level in line with the increase in earnings."