Average Edinburgh house price up 7.7% to £242k

Maria Botha-Lopez

The average selling price for houses in east central Scotland increased 6.2% to £224,782 over the last three months compared to the same period last year, according to latest report by ESPC.

The average selling price in Edinburgh rose 7.7% to £242,337 — and soared up to 25% in some areas of the capital, ESPC said.

The research also showed that due to a shortage of housing stock, the number of homes sold in east central Scotland between June and August of 2016 fell by 8.1% annually.

The report said the percentage of home sales achieving or exceeding their Home Report valuation rose from 61.3% between June and August of 2015 to 71.1% in 2016.

It said the median selling time in east central Scotland was 37.7% faster than the same three-month period a year ago – down from 34 days to 21 days.

And 83.2% of properties listed between June and August 2016 were marketed as “offers over” compared with 70.3% in 2015.

Two bedroom flats in the Bellevue, Hillside and Broughton areas of Edinburgh rose by 20.7% to an average of £247,474 and one bedroom flats in Leith climbed 14.4%.

Three bedroom houses in Currie, Balerno and Juniper Green soared 25.3% to an average of £306,266 — but ESPC said this increase could be at least partly attributed to a 14.3% decrease during the same period last year.

Average property prices in West Fife and Kinross increased by 6% year on year, but East Fife saw a 6% decrease.

“We are continuing to see a drop in the number of homes being sold,” said ESPC.

“Before the EU Referendum, we saw an almost 3% dip in volumes when compared with last year.

“However over the past three months we have seen an 8.1% decrease in sales volumes, and, for the number of properties being brought to market, a 10.6% drop.”

ESPC’s business analyst Maria Botha-Lopez said: “With less properties being brought to market we are continuing to see a demand for good quality homes for sale, and this is resulting in faster selling times — 21 days on average, compared with 34 days during the same time period last year — and 83.2% of properties being marketed as ‘offers over’.

“With two months of post-Brexit data now available, we do see a continued effect on volumes when comparing sales and new listings before and after the referendum on 23rd June.

“However the property market in east central Scotland continues to be robust, and we are still in a seller’s market, as has been the case over the last year.

“We also carried out a survey of our member firms to find out their thoughts on the property market over the last three months.

“They told us that while Brexit has had limited impact, the main reason buyers are not choosing to move home is that there is a shortage of housing stock.

“This could be a good time for those thinking about selling their property to do so now, as we are experiencing faster selling times and 71% of properties achieving their home report valuation or above.”