New figures have revealed Scottish house prices fell by 2.3% between April and June compared to last year.

Statistics from the Registers of Scotland (RoS) state while the average price of a house was £164,326, the volume of sales increased by 4.9% in the first quarter of the year.

A total of 25,760 homes were sold between April and June, the highest volume of sales for this period since 2008/09.

The overall values of sales across Scotland increased by 2.5% compared to 2015 to just over £4.2 billion.

The highest rise in sales volume was in Argyll and Bute, with an annual increase of 24.5% to 462 sales. The largest fall was in Aberdeen City, down 19.5% to 1,063 sales.


East Renfrewshire recorded the highest average property price at £241,364, while West Dunbartonshire recorded the lowest with an average of £105,859.

RoS' director of commercial services, Kenny Crawford, said the figures reflect a "robust and active" property market.

"The total value of the residential property market continues to make an important contribution to the Scottish economy.  We saw a sustained increase in the volume of sales during the previous financial year and this trend is continuing in the first quarter of 2016-17.

"Changes in Land and Buildings Transaction Tax that came into effect on 1 April 2016 for additional dwellings, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties, may have contributed to this increase.

"While volumes are up this quarter, prices are down by 2.3 per cent compared to the previous year, bringing the average price to £164,326."

(LM/CD)