Industry body Homes for Scotland (HfS) has expressed concerns over a 16% drop in the volume of Scottish residential sales compared to last year.

The latest statistics from Registers of Scotland reveals average property prices in Scotland rose by 4.6% in June compared to 2015.

In addition, the volume of residential sales in April 2016 fell to 6,665.

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HfS' Chief Executive, Nicola Barclay, said: "Whilst this decrease in the number of residential sales may in part be a consequence of the new 3% Land & Buildings Transaction Tax supplement on additional homes, the news follows the recently reported drop in vital private sector construction for 2015 and demonstrates that we still have a long way to go before we return to the productivity levels that we need to significantly increase supply."

The organisation added an increase in average house prices would continue as long as demand continued to outstrip supply, making homeownership "beyond the grasp" of many buyers attempting to get onto the housing ladder.

(LM/CD)