Remember, there is always someone worse off than you. This statement should offer consolation to anybody trying to sell their home in Scotland because, according to new research by Home.co.uk, vendors seem to have a greater chance of selling their homes here than in the rest of the UK.

With only a twelfth of the UK’s total population, Scotland boasts 40% of the places where houses sell fastest, according to housing market analysts’ figures for December. If that were not cause enough to cheer, not one Scottish location was among the estate agency portal’s 100 worst-selling spots in Britain.

Geoff Lockett, of the agent Rettie and Co, says these figures are a ringing endorsement of a swift, efficient and fair Scottish house-selling process that is working well, despite the slump.

“We are also offering well-priced homes that buyers want. These statistics also suggest that Scotland will pull out of this crisis quicker than the rest of the UK,” says Lockett.

The list of British towns that have the shortest average house-sale times is headed by the affluent Glasgow suburb Bearsden. Carnoustie, which comes in fifth, Broughty Ferry (eighth), Cumbernauld (ninth) and Arbroath (10th) also featured in the top 10 UK towns.

In Bearsden, the average time from marketing a house to completing a sale was just 73 days in December. Dundee (15th on the list), Edinburgh (58th) Aberdeen (65th) and Glasgow (69th) are the UK’s highest-ranking cities — most places on the fastest-selling list are towns — suggesting that the property market has been least affected in Scotland.

Bloomsbury and Holborn, in central London, are the capital’s most dynamic areas, with average marketing times of 122 and 123 days respectively. But spare a thought for the inhabitants of Aberystwyth the business development director of Home.co.uk, says: “Estate agents in Scotland have advised their clients to price their properties in line with market conditions. Also, stronger local economies offer greater job security, so the property markets in these areas will get along better.”

Alasdair Seaton, of the surveyor DM Hall, is surprised. “My impression is that most of Scotland is struggling but perhaps in relative terms we aren’t doing too badly,” he says. “Certainly, in my patch in Fife, clients’ expectations are falling into line with what they can realistically achieve. For instance, I’ve just surveyed a mid-terrace house in Rosyth at £68,000 — a fall of 20% on the £85,000 it might have fetched 18 months ago. The seller is taking the view that what he has ‘lost’ on his sale, he will more than make back on his next purchase. That is a message that is getting through to most sellers.”

If there is something different about Scotland’s housing market, then, it may be the realistic perspective Scots maintain in good, as well as bad, times.

“The ‘worst towns’ list features a high number of Welsh mining towns, and yet there is no place there for Lochgelly, in Fife, a town with a near-identical profile. We must be doing something right,” says Seaton.

Mark Hordern, of the Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre, says that Home.co.uk’s research is consistent with his figures. “One of our member firms, Allens, sold a bungalow in Bearsden on January 16 with three offers at a closing date,” he says. “The property had been advertised for about four weeks. In this market, that’s remarkable, but it does confirm that popular properties in desirable locations still sell well.”

Having just sold his mother’s former home in Bearsden after having it on the market for five months, Michael Queen says there is a hidden market dynamic obscured by Home.co.uk’s data. “The problem wasn’t lack of demand,” he says, “but the difficulty buyers have getting mortgages.

“We were forced to move to a fixed price to conclude a deal after we’d been strung along by someone who couldn’t come up with the money”.

These numbers should also be put into context. Two years ago, the sale of such a house might have been concluded in seven days, with a number of buyers bidding over the offers-over price.

Faisal Choudhry, of Savills Research, says: “This data asks more questions than it answers. Were these houses sold, or were they simply taken off the market when no buyers emerged? We would have to know the story of each property to form a compelling snapshot.

“Even if the numbers can be taken at face value, 73 days on the market isn’t good news. You’d expect homes to be on the market for half that time during good market conditions.”

Peter Gillespie, of Savills, says: “Make no mistake, Scotland is suffering, but some areas are simply suffering less than others. However, there is certainly no doubting Bearsden’s credentials as a blue-chip residential location, based on a mix of excellent schooling, great amenities and high-quality, period family homes.”

Times recommends

• Second homes: credit crunch casualty or money-spinner?
• How I built my own sliding house
• Top 10 incentives for house buyers