ESPC: Rising house prices indicate strong demand

ESPC: Rising house prices indicate strong demand

Over the past three months, the average selling price in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was £256,730, which was a 4.1 per cent increase compared to last year, ESPC reports.

In Edinburgh, the average selling price was £276,582, which was a four per cent increase compared to last year.

Within the capital, three bedroom houses in Blackhall, Davidsons Mains, Silverknowes, Barnton, Cammo and Cramond saw the biggest increase in average selling price, rising by 13.1 per cent to £400,605. One bed flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank saw a 9.9 per cent increase in average selling price, rising to £170,362.

From May to July 2019, the average selling price in West Lothian fell by 21.2 per cent, dropping to £169,335. This is largely due to a greater proportion of higher value homes being sold last year. In East Lothian, the average selling price increased by 6.7 per cent year-on-year, and in Midlothian, the average selling price rose by 4.7 per cent.

In West Fife & Kinross, the average selling price increased by 6.1 per cent year-on-year. In Dunfermline, the average selling price of properties rose by 4.5 per cent to £173,933. Over in East Fife, the average selling price rose by 3.6 per cent. In the Borders, the average selling price of properties decreased by 3.8 per cent year-on-year, dropping to £225,898.

From May to July 2019, the sales volume in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders increased by 8.2 per cent year-on-year. Within Edinburgh, the sales volume rose by 9.5 per cent compared to last year. This increase is due to a rising number of homes coming to market at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019, helping to meet some of the strong demand for property. However, across all these areas the number of homes coming to market decreased by 6.3 per cent year-on-year and by 4.2 per cent within Edinburgh.

Across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, the average percentage of Home Report valuation achieved was 103.2 per cent over the past three months. Smaller flats close to the centre of the capital proved to be popular again, with one bedroom flats in Polwarth, Shandon and Tollcross achieving 108.3 per cent of Home Report valuation on average, and one bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank achieved 108.2 per cent.

Between May and July 2019, the median time to sell of properties across all areas was 21 days, which was 3 days slower than last year. Within Edinburgh, the time to sell was 19 days, which was also three days slower than last year.

One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank, two bedroom flats in Portobello and Joppa, and one bedroom flats in Polwarth, Shandon and Tollcross boasted a median selling time of 13 days over the past three months.

The top selling property type was two bedroom flats in Leith, closely followed by three bedroom houses in Dunfermline.

Jamie Fraser-Davidson, business analyst at ESPC, said: “Over the past three months, we’ve seen the volume of residential property sales in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders continue to increase compared to last year. This is due to a rising volume of properties coming to market at the end of 2018 and start of 2019.

“However, in the last three months we have seen a fall in the number of properties coming to market compared to last year. Sellers may be becoming less confident as Brexit approaches but rising selling prices and sales volumes show that demand remains strong.

“The Bank of England’s decision to keep the interest rate at the current level of 0.75 per cent is good news for borrowers. However, with fewer properties coming to market, lack of supply and high demand will likely continue driving up selling prices in the area, making it tricky for first time buyers to get on the property ladder.”

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