The average price of a home in Scotland fell by almost 2% last year but the total number of sales went up, according to a report.
Figures from Registers of Scotland (RoS) showed the average price of a residential property in 2016 was just over £166,000.
That was down from just over £169,000 the previous year.
The 1.9% dip in prices came as the volume of sales rose by 3.3%, to 99,860, during the same period.
Overall, the value of the Scottish residential market was found to be more than £16.5bn, an increase of 1.3%.
Sales volumes were strong across the country, with just five local authorities reporting decreases.
The largest declines were in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, where sales fell by 19%. RoS said the drop was influenced by the downturn of the oil industry and its effect on demand for housing in the area.
Orkney showed the biggest increase in sales over the year, rising by more than 25% to 423.
Dundee showed the largest jump in sales among Scotland's cities, with a 13% rise.
On prices, RoS found "considerable variability" across different local authority areas over the course of the year.
East Renfrewshire had the highest average price, at about £242,000, while the lowest was in the Western Isles, where house prices went up by just under 2% to £106,190.
Aberdeenshire saw the biggest annual decrease - down more than 9% to almost £212,000.
Edinburgh had the highest average price of all of Scotland's city local authorities, at £234,000, despite seeing an annual decrease of 1.7%.
The RoS annual market review said: "The 2016 calendar year was a relatively stable period for the Scottish residential property market, particularly when compared with 2015, during which the usual monthly pattern of transactions in the market was affected by the introduction of the new land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT)."
Article published by BBC - 9th March 2017