ESPC House Price Report February 2014
Summary
- The number of homes sold across Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife in the three months to February rose by over 90% annually.
- Sales of all property types showed a substantial increase, with rising activity at the lower end of the market over the last year now having a knock-on effect further up the ladder.
- The rise in buyer activity has led to a large rise in the percentage of sales where properties are meeting or exceeding their Home Report valuation.
- The average house price in Edinburgh rose by 5.6% annually to £202,363.
- Within Edinburgh there are some areas where the supply of properties to the market has not kept pace with the rise in demand leading to sharper price increases in these areas.
Full report
Latest figures released by ESPC reveal that the rise in housing market activity in East Central Scotland has continued to gather pace. During the three months from December to February the number of homes sold across Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife rose by over 90% annually.
Throughout much of 2013 the rise in sales was primarily focussed on the market for smaller properties. This rise in activity at the lower end of the market is now having a knock-on effect further up the property ladder resulting in a rise in the number of homes selling across the board. For example, in Edinburgh the number of one bedroom flats sold rose by 92% annually, whole at the other end of the scale the number of four bedroom houses sold in the Capital was more than 130% higher than was recorded a year ago.
With buyer activity on the rise sellers are now in a stronger position when it comes to neogtiating on price leading to an increase in the proportion of sales where Home Report valuation was achieved. Across Edinburgh just over 42% of properties sold during the last three months achieved a selling price equal to or exceeding their original Home Report valuation – up from 16% of those sold during the same period a year ago.
David Marshall, business analyst with ESPC commented:
"Demand in the housing market has increased significantly over the last twelve months and this naturally means that sellers are now in a stronger position than has been the case for a number of years. Across Edinburgh, the average house price between December and February rose by just over 5% annually to £202,163.
"Within the Capital there are areas where the supply of properties to the market at present has not been sufficient to keep pace with demand which has led to sharper increases in prices in these areas due to heightened competition amongst buyers. In Stockbridge and Comely Bank for example, the average price of a two bed flat sold over the last three months has risen to £256,623 – up by 26% annually. With conditions improving though we'll start to see more sellers coming back to the market which will help to balance out this demand meaning such levels of growth will prove to be a short term phenomenom.
"In East Lothian and West Lothian the average house price declined from levels seen early in 2013, but in both cases these falls offset sharp rises in excess of 17% seen a year ago. Consequently prices are still above levels seen at the start of 2012. Elsewhere, in Midlothian the average house price rose by 2% annually to £152,081 while in Dunfermline a decline of 0.8% took the average price to £141,484".
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