Lucinda Cameron

A coastal town has seen its property prices soar faster than anywhere in Scotland, new figures revealed yesterday.

House prices per square metre in Irvine, Ayrshire, have more than doubled in the last five years, rocketing by 140%.

Buyers paid on average £1280 per square metre in 2007 to secure a property in the town, compared to just £534 per sq metre in 2002.

Bank of Scotland, which published the House Price per Square Metre Survey, said many factors may be fuelling the town's popularity.

A spokesman said: "It's seen by many Scots as a very attractive place to live, as it is in a picturesque part of Ayrshire and has improving commuting links to Glasgow, Kilmarnock and the rest of the central belt.

"It means it's attractive to young professionals and growing families who are maybe priced out of other parts of the housing market."

Aberdeen also saw a major house boom, with prices soaring 134% in five years.

The granite city was the second most expensive place in Scotland in 2007, with average costs of £2132 per square metre.

As well as Irvine, prices in many other small towns also more than doubled, with Kilmarnock in Ayrshire seeing a 120% rise to £1340 per square metre.

Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy in Fife, Alexandria in Dunbartonshire and Lanark and Carluke in Lanarkshire are also in the top 10 for price rises per sq metre, as is Dundee.

But despite the major increases, prices in these towns remain far below those in the Scottish capital.

Edinburgh remains the most expensive place in Scotland, with property costing £2448 per sq metre, despite a more modest price rise of 74%.

Musselburgh and Dalkeith in Midlothian and Inverurie in Aberdeenshire are also in the top five most expensive places to buy per sq metre.

Inverurie saw prices soar by 118% in the past five years, to £1741 per sq metre in 2007.

Growth was slowest in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, where prices rose just 67% in five years, to £1358 per sq metre.

The cheapest place to buy in the UK was Wishaw in Lanarkshire, where househunters would have to pay just £1128 per square metre to secure a home.

The Scottish average per square metre is £1632, a 99% rise in the past five years, compared to the UK average of £2158 per sq metre (up 69%).

The survey looked at 403 UK towns including 36 north of the border.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: "When looking at property prices on a square metre basis, there has been a huge divergence in house price performance across Scotland over the past five years, ranging from a rise of 140% in Irvine to 67% in Hamilton.

"Despite these differences, there has been little change in the composition of those areas with the most and least expensive properties.

"Eight of the 10 most expensive areas in Scotland in 2002 were still among the most expensive in 2007."

The average price per square metre is calculated by dividing the average house price by the average square metres per property, excluding external space.