The Olympics and recent wet weather are being blamed for a sharp decline in Scottish house prices.

The latest LSL/Acad Scotland House Price Index shows the average cost of a home in Scotland was down 1.2% in August to £143,867, making it the biggest monthly decline since March 2009.

The average house price was down 2.1% on August last year, equal to the November 2009 figure when prices were recovering from the 2008 housing crisis.

But Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, which is part of LSL, said: "The headline figures suggest the housing market is slipping back into the deep hole it found itself in during 2009, but it isn't time to start ringing the alarm bells just yet.

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"Areas of Scotland were deluged with twice the normal amount of rainfall, which discouraged plenty of second-time buyers from going out and viewing properties.

"And the Olympics took up people's spare time. Lots of potential buyers will have put their property search on hold for a few weeks and used their leisure time to watch the sport. This may be why sales were down 6% on July."

He added: "The market hasn't suddenly become a lot weaker. First-time buyer numbers are up 9% so far on last year, demand is still strong, and high loan-to-value mortgages are more widely available. August should prove to be just a blot on the copy book of recovery."

Mr Sexton added that there was a sense of "cautious optimism" following a tentative recovery in first-time buyer numbers.

But he said it was a "fragile recovery" which could be threatened by a sharp downturn in the economy.

(IT)