ESPC House Price Report June 2015
Key points
- The number of homes being sold has increased by 6.9% compared with the same period last year.
- The average selling price has dropped by half a per cent, the first decrease since December 2012.
- Dunfermline is continuing to rise – the Fife town is still seeing an increase in average selling prices, by 12.6% between April and June 2015, compared with the same period last year.
- There are less homes being brought to market – numbers have decreased by 5.6% compared with April to June last year.
- It’s taking the same amount of time to sell a property as it was during the same period last year.
Watch our video where we discuss the report:
Property prices fall on the back of the LBTT effect
Average property prices in east central Scotland have fallen by a half percentage in the period between April and June 2015, when compared with the same period last year, according to figures from ESPC. This comes in contrast to the 18% rocket in average house prices as seen in our April house price report.
This could be explained by the surge in higher-priced properties being brought to market at the start of the year due to the introduction of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). There are less properties over £300,000 now being sold, therefore driving down average prices.
However, by comparing the property prices for the first six months of 2015 with the first six months of 2014 for east central Scotland, we see that they have increased by 9%.
Less homes are being brought to market, with a decrease of 5.6% compared with last year. However, conditions are still more favourable to the seller as more homes are continuing to be sold, with an increase by 6.9%, compared with that period last year. Homes are increasingly achieving their Home Report valuation, with 58.7% reaching their valuation, compared with 56.7% at the same time last year.
Gorgie and Dalry are continuing to be a popular choice, particularly in the first time buyer market, with prices for one bedroom flats rising by 11.1% compared with the same time last year. In comparison, Leith Walk and Easter Road have seen a small price increase of 0.4%.
Similarly Stockbridge and Comely Bank are areas that are continuing to see growth in property prices. A two bedroom flat is selling at an average price of £276,551 compared with £251,467 between April and June 2014 last year – this is a 10% increase.
Dunfermline is still proving to be a strong area in the east central Scotland property market. The average price of a property is continuing to increase, this time by 12.6% compared with the same time last year – that’s £161,129 compared with £143,104 between April to June 2014.
Maria Botha-Lopez, business analyst for ESPC said: “We’re continuing to see the impact of the introduction of LBTT on the regional property market as average property prices have fallen in the period of April to June 2015, after LBTT was implemented on 1st April.
“A surge in average property prices in the first quarter was driven by larger volumes of high-end property sales, and now we are seeing a decrease in average property price driven by smaller volumes of high-end property sales in the second quarter.
“By comparing the first six months of this year against the same period last year we see a 9% growth in average property prices, which looks like we have a better chance of balancing out the waxing and waning of the LBTT effect on property prices. It will be interesting to see whether this effect will taper out in the coming months.”
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