August property market update: Evidence of a competitive market continues
Key points
- In Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, during August 2020 there was a 41% increase in the number of homes coming to market compared to the previous year.
- The average asking price across these areas in August was £250,718 compared to £232,737 in August 2019.
- 93.7% of properties in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders were marketed as “offers over” in August compared to 79.3% in the same period last year, indicating confidence in the current market conditions from ESPC agents and sellers.
- ESPC also noted significant year-on-year increases in valuation requests, viewing requests and closing dates, suggesting continued strong demand to buy and sell property.
Homes coming to market
August 2020 proved to be another exceptionally busy month for the local property market. The number of homes in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders listed on ESPC during this month was up 41% compared to the previous year. In the capital, the volume of new homes coming to market was up 48% year-on-year.
Signs of confidence from agents and sellers
The average asking price recorded by ESPC in these areas during August 2020 was £250,718 compared to £232,737 last year. In Edinburgh, the average asking price was £264,626 compared to £242,426 last August.
Out of the properties listed on ESPC in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders during August 2020, 93.7% were marketed as “offers over” compared to just 79.3% last year. In Edinburgh, 97.4% of properties were marketed as “offers over”. This is a sign of confidence in current market conditions from agents and sellers.
Evidence of a competitive market
We are also seeing continued evidence of a highly competitive market. Reports from agents indicate that there is a lot of activity and interest in buying properties, with homes frequently selling fast and in excess of the Home Report valuation.
In August 2020, the number of properties placed “under offer” on ESPC was up 43% compared to August 2019. Furthermore, there was a 70% year-on-year increase in the number of closing dates set for properties advertised on ESPC. A high number of closing dates indicates high competition for homes.
Demand from property buyers and sellers
We have also continued to see a strong level of engagement with espc.com, with a 69% year-on-year increase in web traffic sessions in August, along with a 58% increase in Home Report downloads, a 220% increase in viewing requests and a 49% increase in the number of My ESPC accounts set up, which buyers can use to sign up for property alerts. All these are useful indicators of buyer demand.
Furthermore, we have seen another strong month for property valuation requests, up 87% year-on-year and just slightly behind the record volume received in July. This suggests there is still relatively strong demand to sell property in ESPC areas.
A busy month for the local property market
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “August 2020 has been another exceptionally busy month for the local property market, with ESPC agents across many of the areas we cover reporting high volumes of enquiries and lots of competition for property.
“We are also seeing lots more homes coming to market, and the increase in average asking price and number of homes priced as ‘offers over’ indicates confidence from agents and sellers in current market conditions.
“The increased volume of closing dates compared to last year also suggests that the market is a competitive one currently, and this is further indicated through anecdotal evidence from ESPC agents.
“The UK faces some economic uncertainties going forward and this could impact property market activity, as could any further localised lockdowns in Scotland, such as the one recently in Aberdeen and the one which has just begun in Glasgow. However, currently there is a high level of activity in most ESPC areas, which hopefully means the Scottish market is in a relatively strong position going forward.”
