Scottish house prices continued their slide in February, slipping 0.9% to leave the average home costing £220,702, data shows.  

Taken together with January’s 0.8% shortfall prices have fallen by £3,750 this year, the largest two-month slide in 14 years, says the Walker Fraser Steele Acadata House Price Index.  

However, the cost of a home is still 3% higher than a year ago, with 23 of the 32 local authority areas in Scotland seeing average prices rise above the levels twelve months earlier.  

But the report adds: “In each of the last eight years, March transaction totals have always exceeded those of February. We should expect higher sales volumes in next month’s data.”  

East Renfrewshire is the area with the highest average house prices, which saw annual costs lift 8.8% to £340,607. Inverclyde is the authority with the lowest prices, where annual costs fell 8.7% to £138,566.  

Walker Fraser Steele regional development director Scott Jack says: “Far from experiencing a storm, the Scottish housing market could be said to be navigating choppy waters.   

“This is to be expected as January and February are typically slow months for house sales — in part because of the shorter days and extended holidays over the Christmas period.   

“However, the seasonal lull in activity has been amplified by the rise in mortgage costs as a result of the ill-conceived Truss-Kwarteng mini-Budget.”  

The report also notes a rise of homes owned by landlords coming up for sale, in the wake of increased regulation from the Scottish government, including proposals to double council taxes on second homes this week.  

Jack adds: “Many estate agents have noticed an increase in the number of rental properties coming to market.   

“Landlords raised their concerns about the legislation in response to the cost-of-living crisis some time ago.   

“This legislation has followed a sustained period of increased letting agent regulation, higher taxes for landlords and tight rent controls to protect tenants.”