Fall in property sales and prices

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Scottish house prices fell by nearly 9% since the start of this year, according to the latest official statistics.

Registers of Scotland also reported a 39% fall in the number of homes being sold in the first three months of 2009, compared to the previous quarter.

Five council areas - Angus, Falkirk, Moray, East Dunbartonshire and Orkney - have seen rises in property prices, compared to the previous year.

East Renfrewshire had the highest fall in detached house prices, at 28.5%.

The average price of a residential property in Scotland between January and March was £140,318, representing a 8.7% decrease on the previous quarter.

Every transaction

The Edinburgh council area recorded the highest average residential price, at £187,289 - which was a decrease of 6.8% on the last three months of 2008.

The city remains the largest market in Scotland, with sales of just under £217m for the quarter, a fall of 43.5% compared with the previous quarter.

Across the country, the total value of sales registered during the three-month period was just over £1.6bn - a decrease of 44% on October to December.

Government agency Registers of Scotland, which compiled the figures, includes every property transaction in its reports.