House prices down 4.6%

Although the average house price was 1,455 higher than the previous month, it was the second month in a row that there had been an annual drop.

Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC) said the number of properties for sale in the Capital was around 50 per cent above normal levels as sellers struggle to find a buyer.

Business analyst with ESPC, David Marshall, predicted that average house prices in early 2011 would be about the same as the start of 2010.