The Tayside Solicitors Property Centre (TSPC) in Dundee reported annual sales amounting to £397 million – with the average property price for last year dropping 0.6 per cent to £145,595.

Lynne Hill, centre manager, said the market had recovered.

“The Tayside market is showing a greater level of confidence. Potential sellers should be grasping the nettle and pressing ahead with plans to bring properties to the market sooner rather than later.

“The market finished strongly, with November alone seeing a 20 per cent leap in the number of registrations at the centre.

“We saw 626 homes brought to the market during October, November and December, up seven per cent on the same period for 2015,” she said.

Commenting on the past year, she added: “While there was little change in the average price overall, the picture was very different at the top end of the market, where the price of the average detached villa, coming in at £256,541, jumped five per cent compared with the previous year.

“Demand in this sector has been very noticeable, with 1,317 villas changing hands in 2016, with a total value of more than £231m.”