Small uptick in east central Scotland house sales over last quarter

The property market in east central Scotland has seen a slight increase in the number of properties being put up for sale over the last three months, according to the latest analysis from ESPC.

The 2.4 per cent increase in the number of homes brought to market is indicative of a turnaround in the property shortage seen over the last year. This could demonstrate a seasonal upturn after the market typically slows down in the lead up to Christmas and New Year, as well as a recovery from the impact of changes to Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) which has had an effect on the market since introduced.

Increases in average selling prices continue and homes are being sold within a median time of 26 days, down from 35 days this time last year. Time to sell is even quicker in Edinburgh – down to 23 days. To add to this, 11.1 per cent of properties selling within a week of being listed, up from 7.5 per cent last year.

ESPC’s business analyst Maria Botha-Lopez said: “These are encouraging signs of a modest improvement with sales volumes stabilising, although still slightly down from the same period last year. There has also been a modest upswing in new listings on the market across east central Scotland.

“It offers a promising start to 2017, where we hope sellers will be encouraged to put their home up for sale. 84.6 per cent of properties listed between November 2016 and January 2017 were marketed as offers over, compared with 75 per cent in 2015. Similarly, 23.8 per cent of sales went to a closing date, which is up from 16.7 per cent last year, and in Edinburgh, 29 per cent of sales went to a closing date, which is a positive sign for sellers.

“Three bedroom houses in the Currie, Balerno and Juniper Green areas continue to show the largest increase in average selling prices across east central Scotland, with a 19.9% increase over the last three months. These have been the top performers in selling prices since July 2016 from the areas and property types we track in our monthly House Price Report.”