Lothian pushing for pole in rural house price table

Published on Monday 5 May 2008 10:38

RURAL homes in East Lothian are among the most expensive in the whole of the country, new research has revealed.

Research by Edinburgh-based mortgage lender Bank of Scotland has shown that the average cost of a rural home in East Lothian is 208,065.

Only Aberdeen has a higher average selling price for rural properties.

The average rural property in East Lothian is 35,770 above the national average, representing a 21 per cent premium.

East Lothian also has the second-lowest vacancy rate, at 3.3 per cent. And it was also rated the driest rural authority, and the sunniest.

The figures were contained within the first Bank of Scotland rural areas quality of life survey.

The data also shows that residents of rural Aberdeenshire have the highest life expectancy, with an average newborn baby now expected to live to 77. They also have the highest average salary, at 28,564.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "People living in Aberdeenshire have the best quality of life in Scotland's rural areas.

"They tend to be healthy, live in larger than average houses and have relatively high earnings.

"However, living in Aberdeenshire comes at a price with house prices 48,228 above the average for Scotland."