David Alexander: Underlying house sale trend seems to be sideways

Vendors, for obvious reasons, loved it, but unsuccessful bidders were left confused, frustrated and, having paid for a surveyor's valuation, out of pocket as well.

Now the boot is on the other foot and many properties are effectively being sold for "offers under" the asking price. Not only are fixed prices now common, but only 33 per cent of sales in this category in the period March to May achieved the asking price compared to 45 per cent during the same time last year.

But my reaction to these latest figures from the ESPC is to treat them with caution.

The revelation that prices between March and May fell by 4.4 per cent over the same period last year may be statistically correct, just like last spring's recorded rise of 11.8 per cent.

But it seems extremely doubtful that vendors in Edinburgh in 2010 personally felt that their properties were worth nearly 12 per cent more than the year before.

Concluding that suburban, three-bedroom semi-detached homes rose in price this spring by 6.2 per cent while the four-bedroom detached version fell by 6.9 per cent suggests a comparison between apples and pears. Houses coming under a single category vary greatly in price for a variety of reasons - mainly location, but also condition, age, access, etc.

My inference is that most of the three-bedroom semis which sold between March and May this year were in some way superior to those which found buyers last year - and that probably accounts for the "average price rise".

There is, however, one benefit in house price surveys in that they discern trends, and while questioning some of the detail, my inference from these statistics is that there is most definitely an underlying trend sideways.

Net demand fell off a cliff as a result of the financial crisis of 2007/08 and even in Edinburgh - which used to consider itself immune from issues that had a negative effect on local markets elsewhere - a return to sustained, long-term growth is almost certainly still some way off.

• David Alexander is proprietor of the letting and estate agency, DJ Alexander.