However, the bank's survey also found significant increases in some parts of the country, including Stirling and Inverness.

The quarterly house price index puts the average price of a house in Scotland at £66,480, compared with a UK average of £105,675.

House prices

Edinburgh £128,761 Stirling £101,142 Borders £90,395 Aberdeen £89,270 Inverness £85,733 Glasgow £83,770 Dundee £73,215 Dumfries and Galloway £73,896

The bank said the Scottish figure represents 2.7 times average earnings.

The annual 4.3% rise Scotland-wide compares with an annual rate of 8.3% earlier this year, the highest since 1990.

However, the country's two newest cities, Stirling and Invermess- have recorded 20% rises in the past year

The average price of a house in Stirling has now passed the £100,000 barrier.

Martin Ellis, Bank of Scotland group economist, said: "House prices have risen more slowly than elsewhere in the UK with the exception of Northern Ireland over the past year, with all the nine regions of England and Wales experiencing double-digit rises."

The bank said Scotland's 4.3% rate of increase compares with a UK-wide figure of 16.7%.

Biggest increases

Prices in Scotland have risen by 140% from the beginning of 1983, when the average price was £27,800. But there are variations between different parts of the country.

Leading the price league was Edinburgh and bottom was Dumfries and Galloway.

Inverness and Stirling had the biggest increases, at 20%, followed closely by Dundee at 19%.

While Edinburgh remains Scotland's most expensive city, house price rises in the capital have slowed to 18% from 32%.

"Prices have risen well in excess of the Scottish average over the past year in all of the country's cities except Aberdeen, which has seen an average increase in prices of only 4% over the past year," said a bank spokesman.