Sales of homes in Scotland in 2013 are 17% higher than 2012, according to the LSL Property Services/Acadametrics Scotland House Price Index for August.

The report said that first-time buyers account for the majority of increase in sales.

However, prices are down by 0.3% on an annual basis.

Dr Peter Williams, chairman of Acadametrics, said: “Two steps forward, one step back might be the best way of describing Scotland’s housing market in August. In July 2013 we saw a 27% increase in the number of housing transactions compared to June, against an expected increase of 7% for the time of year.

“In August, transactions fell back by 10%, against a seasonal expectation that the number of sales would remain at the same level as in July. However, at 51,000 transactions, sales from January – August 2013 are up by 10% on the same eight months in 2012. So the bounce in July sales has been only partly moderated by the fall in August.

“Looking at house prices for the month of August, there is a similar pattern. The rise of 0.3% in prices in July 2013 has been moderated by a fall of 0.2% in August. However, on an annual basis, the rate of change in house prices has risen from -1.1% in July to -0.3% in August. This is a consequence of the -1.0% fall in prices in the month of August last year dropping out of the statistics.”