HOUSE prices dropped slightly in the Scottish Borders in March for the second month in succession new figures show.

But the drop does not reverse the longer-term trend, which has seen property prices in the area achieve 13.3% annual growth.

The average the Scottish Borders house price in March was £193,061, Land Registry figures show – a 0.3% decrease on February.

Over the month, the picture was similar to that across Scotland, where prices remained static, and the Scottish Borders underperformed compared to the 0.3% rise for the UK as a whole.

Over the last year, the average sale price of property in the Scottish Borders rose by £23,000 – putting the area 10th among Scotland’s 32 local authorities with price data for annual growth.

Owners of flats fared worst in the Scottish Borders in March – they dropped 0.8% in price, to £104,909 on average. But over the last year, prices rose by 10%.

Detached: up 0% monthly; up 16.5% annually; £334,679 average

Semi-detached: up 0.1% monthly; up 14.6% annually; £200,161 average

Terraced: down 0.2% monthly; up 13% annually; £163,976 average

First-time buyers in the Scottish Borders spent an average of £150,000 on their property – £17,000 more than a year ago, and £43,000 more than in March 2017.

By comparison, former owner-occupiers paid £228,000 on average in March – 51.9% more than first-time buyers.

Buyers paid 6.4% more than the average price in Scotland (£181,000) in March for a property in the Scottish Borders.