Renfrewshire (Scottish Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù, Scots: Renfrewsk) is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it borders onto the south-western shore of the Firth of Clyde where it faces south onto the North Channel as well as bordering East Ayrshire, Inverclyde and West Dunbartonshire. Other neighbouring council areas are Argyll and Bute, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. Despite strong population growth, Renfrewshire’s housing stock is relatively small compared with other areas in Scotland, accounting for just under 2% of Scottish dwellings. Average property prices were £171,000 in 2015-16 and over two-thirds of all owner occupiers owned their homes outright without a mortgage.