For the UK market as a whole property price inflation fell to 10% in February, from 11.6% six months ago.
London (12.9%), Oxford (11.6%), Bristol (10.9%) and Cambridge (10.8%) remain strong performers.
In Scotland prices in Aberdeen and Edinburgh have risen by 10.7% and 6.8% annually, however in the three months to February they dropped by 0.6% and 0.4%.
Belfast, Leeds, Liverpool and Cardiff all registered a 20% to 39% growth in sales volumes in 2014 compared to the average for the previous five years.
Richard Donnell, director of research at residential analysts Hometrack, said: “While the pick-up in activity is welcome news, housing sales in 2014 are still 38% lower than the level seen in 2007 and 10% below the average for the last decade.
“The ongoing housing recovery is far from broad based and remains focused on higher value areas within cities where households have equity and find it easier to access mortgage finance.”
