Shetland house prices 'doubled in decade thanks to employment'

Shetland prices were said to have risen by 104%

Shetland has topped the UK's house prices rise percentages for the past decade thanks to employment prospects, according to a report.

Bank of Scotland said the average Shetland house price had more than doubled in the past decade to £153,782, up by 104%.

This was followed by Hackney, Southwark and the Western Isles.

The report said the best performing areas were those with largest falls in unemployment.

At the other end of the scale, the study said Lisburn in Northern Ireland saw prices grow by 5%.

The UK average property price was said to have grown by 22% - £36,482 - to £199,039 over the same period from 2004.

Nitesh Patel, housing economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "In general, house price growth over the past decade has been stronger in the areas that have seen the biggest falls in the unemployment rate as measured by the claimant count.

"Areas in northern Scotland and inner London have generally outperformed other areas on both house price performance and a lower unemployment rate.

"During the recession of 2008-09 property values fell across most areas, even where the unemployment rate rose only marginally.

"This does highlight that while unemployment is important there are also other factors that drive house prices, such as affordability, earnings growth and low housing supply."