The latest report from Aberdeen Solicitors’ Property Centre (ASPC) shows the average cost of a home in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire is £191,291 – down from £204,130 in December.

One leading property solicitor said the figures had to be looked at “in context” and predicted the market would pick up throughout the year.

The ASPC bulletin also shows more properties are going on the market, compared with the same period in the last two years, and that the number of houses being sold is on the rise.

Just under 1,000 north-east properties sold in the first three months of 2009, but the total increased to just below 1,200 in the same period this year. Between January and March this year 1,402 homes were put on the market, with 1,144 of them sold by the end of the quarter.

According to the report the average price for a home in Lower Deeside is £251,865.

At the end of last year homes in the same area were reportedly selling for £344,000.

Properties in the Banchory, Kingswells, Westhill, Banchory and Newmachar areas are among the most expensive at the moment – priced at £290,301, £266,689, £245,423 and £241,350 respectively.

John MacRae, chairman of the board of directors at ASPC, noted several possible reasons for the drop in prices across the region.

“Firstly the first-quarter figures are, traditionally, the worst figures of the year due to seasonal factors,” he said.

“Secondly, last year saw a slow but prolonged recovery in prices – thus rendering the comparison between the end of 2009 and the first quarter of this year unusually marked. Thirdly, the figures for any one period can be affected by housing types being sold and can show slightly skewed figures.”

He added: “While we are still in difficult times, the start of 2010 does show that our local market is likely to maintain the slow recovery of last year.”