HOUSE prices in Inverclyde continue to drop - with the average falling by 0.3 per cent in October.

New figures from Walker Fraser Steele’s House Price Index show the area’s average fee of £135,452 is lower than any other local authority in Scotland.

Year-on-year, Inverclyde has seen a 5.7 per cent decrease in house prices.

The area's October figures are in line with the national trend, with prices falling by 0.3 per cent across the country as a whole.

Scott Jack, regional development director at Walker Fraser Steele, said: “2023 has been a harder year. The rising base rate has adversely impacted property transactions.

“Although the housing market in 2023 did enjoy the traditional spring bounce in transactions that occurs in March, sales volumes from July 2023 onward have been below all previous years since 2013.

“Sales over the first ten months of 2023 are down by 11.3 per cent compared to the equivalent period in 2022.

“I’m optimistic that with a stable base rate, lenders are now starting to compete for business with competitive mortgage rates which, with better inflation figures, should encourage transaction levels over and above those we expect from the remortgaging business due in the first quarter of next year.”