The number of property sales in Tayside fell by nearly a third between last year and this year, new figures have revealed.
Statistics published by Registers of Scotland show the number of residential sales in the first quarter of the year fell by 30.2% from 398 in 2010 to 278 this year.
The average price of a home in Dundee also dropped, by 5.2% from £122,991 to £116,579.
Elsewhere in Tayside and Fife, property prices rose over the year although, as in Dundee, the volume of sales also fell.
Sales in Fife fell by 16.6% from 1045 to 872 although the average house price rose by 5.9% to £135,070.
The number of house sales in Angus dropped by 19% in Angus, from 311 to 252 but average property prices rose by 2.6% to £142,998.
In Perth and Kinross the number of homes sold fell by nearly a fifth (19.7%) from 416 to 334 but, along with East Dunbartonshire, the area recorded the highest average price rise in Scotland. Average property prices in Perth and Kinross rose by 9.3% to £181,732 over the year.
George Solley, director of property sales at Thorntons, said the lack of available mortgages for first and second time buyers was responsible for the fall in the volume of sales.
He said, “At Thorntons we’ve actually seen the average house price rise and this is because of the lack of mortgages for first and second time buyers so most of the sales are by people who don’t need mortgages of more than 85%.
“I’m not surprised that the volume of sales is well down because it is getting more and more difficult to sell properties at the bottom of the market. Unless we see some help coming out to give better mortgages then the volume will stay well down.”