INVERCLYDE has bucked the national trend by recording the quickest growth for house prices in the country.

Property analysts Walker Fraser Steele's latest figures, for February, show that prices grew by 11.4 per cent in a year, outstripping every other area.

Across the country average prices fell slightly.

The cost of buying a house in Inverclyde sits at £149,211, which is still nearly £72,000 below the national average.

Property sale data shows that it is still one of the cheapest places to buy a house in Scotland, with only West Dunbartonshire having lower average prices.

But the area is also on one of the rich lists, with three Inverclyde houses selling for over £750,000, one of only eight local authorities in the country to record similar sales.