HOUSE sales in Inverclyde have rocketed – with over £134 million spent in just a year.

Latest figures issued by the Registers of Scotland (RoS) revealed that the statistics for residential property in 2014 are at a six-year high across the country — and Inverclyde is among the local authority areas performing well.

Sales of properties shot up by almost 10 per cent to over £134m compared to £123m the previous year.

During the same period, a total of 1,068 properties changed hands — up slightly, by just 17 — with the average house price in Inverclyde up 7.6 per cent to just over £126,000.

Carol Knox, valuer at Greenock-based Blair and Bryden for BestMove, says 2014 was a strong year for the local property market — and she hopes the trend continues in 2015.

She told the Tele: “We had a great year, we really did.

“A lot of properties sold and it was a good year for selling your house. Hopefully this year will be the same.” Carol expects prices to remain stable overall but tipped certain areas, like new build developments in the district, to drive growth.

She said: “I don’t see a massive increase in prices to be honest but with the likes of the new Springfield and Stewart Milne developments in Inverkip, people will buy them because of things like the part exchange deals — that’s put prices up.” Moray was the local authority area to experience the largest annual growth in sales, with an increase of almost a quarter — up from £205m to £263m.

Edinburgh continues to have the largest volume of sales, with 11,092 in 2014 — an increase of nearly 14 per cent.

Aberdeen and Dumfries and Galloway both recorded a reduction in the number of sales.

Kenny Crawford, RoS’s director of commercial services, said: “The total value of the residential property market continues to make a significant contribution to the Scottish economy.

“In 2014, the market totalled £15.4 billion, an increase of 16.4 per cent on the previous year.”