Property prices stood at £141,918 in November, down 0.2% on the previous month and down 3.8% over the year.

Low savings, fewer successful mortgage applications and inflation are contributing to the decline in the market, the latest Scotland House Price Index by LSL Property Services shows.

Increases have been seen in the past year in around one-fifth of local authority areas, including East Renfrewshire, Dundee and Inverclyde, but elsewhere has seen consistent falls in prices.

Gordon Fowlis, regional managing director of Your Move, an estate agency chain which is part of LSL, said: "Property in Scotland has been bleeding value over the past 12 months. House sales in the first 11 months of 2012 were 55% lower than they were in 2007, and house prices are down in three-quarters of areas.

"The first half of last year saw a slight recovery in prices but it was cut short by a sharp squeeze on the mortgages funds available to banks, which led to a reduction in first-time buyer numbers over the second half of the year.

"First-time buyers are the cornerstone of a healthy market."

Edinburgh continues to be Scotland's most expensive city, with the average price for a house at £207,672.

The average cost of a house in Glasgow, is significantly lower at £124,697.