Majestic Edinburgh with its famous castle has recently been named as the best place to live in the UK by a popular TV programme. Channel 4's property investment programme Location, Location, Location, backed by 4Homes poll topped the list of the best places to live in Britain, based on s a number of different criteria. Presenters Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsopp named Scotland's capital city as the best place to live. ?It is the flower of Scotland ? and the rest of the UK now!? the said. One reason for its victory were the prices in Edinburgh, the typical house selling for ?205,000, said to be ?5,000 below the UK average.

Overall in Scotland house prices have increased by 14.2% in the last year according to October research from Halifax. This makes it the third largest increase of all the UK regions, and 3.5 percentage points above the UK average of 10.7%. During the the last three months the region has seen house prices go up by 0.7%. According to these figures, the average house price in Scotland is ?141,158, which is ?57,740 less than the national average of ?198,898.

The popularity of the city will mean that Edinburgh mortgages are even more sought after. As with all locations there are fixed rate mortgages, discounted mortgages, capped mortgages, variable rate mortgages and self cert mortgages. Plenty of mortgage firms serve the city and some serve the rest of central Scotland as well. Many will be able to help you with full financial planning through independent financial advisors, as well as access to solicitors and surveyors.

Confidence in bricks and mortar north of the border means that the services of Edinburgh mortgage providers remain in demand. Despite turmoil south of the border, Scotland's housing stock has continued to grow in value. There have been a number of reasons for this. Scottish property has long been undervalued compared to English, and has been playing catch-up in recent months. Devolution has meant that there has been a fund injection into Edinburgh resulting in higher prices, and the different process of selling in Scotland also has an effect ? discounting of property is unusual. Large price rises have raised concerns about the sustainability of such growth. The news that Edinburgh is top of the best places to live in the UK list will undoubtedly serve to bolster house prices for some time, but there is a likelihood that house prices will flatten out over the next 12-18 months.

In the meantime the Edinburgh mortgage market is still proving buoyant. If you want a in edinburgh, then it is advisable to shop around and look for local mortgage brokers to get the best deal.