In Edinburgh, the average selling price was £265,748, a 1.8 per cent increase compared to last year.

Properties in the north and north-west of the city saw the greatest growth in average selling price, rising by 9.9 per cent and 10.2 per cent year-on-year, respectively. Three bedroom houses in Cramond, Barnton and Cammo saw a 36.2 per cent increase in average selling price, while three bedroom houses in South Queensferry and Dalmeny saw a 20.4 per cent increase.

As mentioned in the last House Price Report, while these increases may seem very significant on the surface, in both cases this was due to the properties being sold, some of which were at a much higher value, which subsequently pushed up the average price.

Outwith Edinburgh, properties in the Scottish Borders saw a 9.2 per cent increase in average selling price, compared to the previous year. Properties in East Lothian and homes in West Lothian both experienced an 8 per cent increase year-on-year. Houses and flats in Midlothian saw a 6.5 per cent year-on-year increase in average selling price over the last three months.

The average property selling price in West Fife and Kinross decreased by 4.1 per cent and by 1.9 per cent in East Fife. Properties in Dunfermline saw a 5.5 per cent decrease in average selling price.

From November 2019 to January 2020, there was a 5.0 per cent decrease in sales volume in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders. However, the number of properties coming to market increased by 1 per cent. In Edinburgh, there was a 7.4 per cent decrease in sales volume and a 4.4 per cent decrease in the number of homes coming to market.

The top selling property in terms of sales volume was three bedroom houses in Dunfermline, followed by two bedroom flats in Leith and one bedroom flats in Gorgie. Dunfermline also boasted the greatest number of new property listings of any district over the past three months.

The average percentage of Home Report valuation achieved across all areas was 102.4 per cent compared to 102.8 per cent the previous year. In Edinburgh, the average percentage of Home Report valuation was 103.6 per cent compared to 104.1 per cent. One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank achieved the greatest percentage of Home Report valuation at 107 per cent.

Selling time decreased slightly on average – the median time for a property to go under offer in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was 23 days over the past three months compared to 24 days last year. Three bedroom houses in South Queensferry and Dalmeny boasted the fastest selling time at 14 days, which was 28 days slower than the same period last year.

Jamie Fraser-Davidson, business analyst at ESPC, said: “In the last three months, the UK has had a General Election and left the EU. While many might expect such political uncertainty to impact the property market significantly, the market in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders has remained relatively stable in recent months.

“However, as we noted in previous House Price Reports, there has been a consistent drop in the number of homes coming to market year-on-year for many months, resulting in a lack of supply of homes to the market. We also started to see demand level off as the end of 2019 approached, which in turn has resulted in a dip in sales volume.

“Now that the UK has entered the Brexit transition period, expected clarity on the nature of the future trade and political relationships could see renewed confidence among homeowners, leading to a rise in both demand and stock levels. However, we may see further uncertainty throughout 2020 until these agreements are formalised.”