HOUSEBUYERS have been enjoying mixed fortunes across Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, latest figures have revealed.

A house price index compiled by Your Move and Acadata shows that buyers in the Paisley area were quids in as average property values took a dip.

However, in the Barrhead area, average prices were virtually unchanged compared with a year ago.

The average price in Renfrewshire in March was £131,426 - down by more than two per cent on February and almost four per cent on March 2016.

In East Renfrewshire, the average price was £243,365, representing a tiny 0.1 per cent increase on February but a 0.7 per cent dip from last year.

Across Scotland as a whole, average house prices were at their highest for two years, standing at £173,335.

Christine Campbell, Your Move managing director in Scotland, said: “A slowdown in growth doesn’t change the remarkable resilience of the Scottish housing market.

“Prices are now at their highest since the upset to the market caused by the introduction of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax in 2015.”

Alan Penman, business development manager for Walker Fraser Steele, one of Scotland’s oldest firms of chartered surveyors, added: “The market looks in strong shape, despite sluggish growth.

“While a few high-value sales continue to distort average prices in a number of areas, the real engine driving steady growth in the Scottish market is the solid performance of property in its two biggest cities, Edinburgh and Glasgow.”

According to experts at Your Move, neither the snap General Election nor the Scottish Parliament’s backing for a second independence referendum have influenced average house prices.

East Renfrewshire had Scotland’s second highest average property price in March.

Top of the table was Edinburgh, where the average house price was £250,107 - almost £7,000 more than the figure for East Renfrewshire.

The cheapest properties could be found in North Ayrshire, where the average price was £110,888.

This represents a drop of two per cent from February and more than five per cent compared to the average for March 2016.