House Price Report April 2019

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Property market data - key points

• From February to April 2019, the average selling price of properties in east central Scotland was £245,208 compared to £235,954 for the same period last year, which was a 3.9% increase.
• During this period, the sales volume increased by 8% year-on-year.
• The number of homes coming to market increased by 3% during these three months compared to last year.
• Between February and April 2019, the average percentage of Home Report valuation achieved was 102.7% compared to 103.7% during the same period last year.
• The median time to sell in east central Scotland was 26 days during these three months, which was four days slower than last year.
• 27.3% of sales during these months had a closing date compared to 31.1% last year.

Sales volume and properties coming to market

Over the last three months there was a 3% year-on-year increase in the number of properties coming to market in east central Scotland and a 1.1% increase in Edinburgh. In east central Scotland, there was an 8% increase in sales volume compared to last year, while in Edinburgh there was a 12.9% increase.

Average selling prices in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders

Between February and April 2019, the average selling price of properties in east central Scotland was £245,208 compared to £235,954 last year, which was a 3.9% increase. In Edinburgh, the average selling price during this price rose by 1.9% to £261,713.

Within the capital, one bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank saw the biggest increase in average selling price, rising by 16.6% to £171,223. One bedroom flats in Polwarth, Shandon and Tollcross saw the biggest decrease in selling prices, dropping by 19.6% to £161,943. This is largely due to a greater proportion of higher value homes being sold last year. Properties in these areas still achieved 107.2% of their Home Report valuation on average.

Outwith the capital, from February to April 2019, properties in West Lothian saw a significant increase in average selling prices, rising by 16.9% to £227,111. East Lothian properties also saw a 12.3% increase in average selling prices, while the average selling price of Dunfermline properties increased by 6.4%. Properties in the Scottish Borders saw a 5.1% decrease in average selling prices – this is due to a greater proportion of larger homes being sold last year.

Selling times

The median time to sell in east central Scotland was 26 days during these three months, which was four days slower than last year. In Edinburgh, the median selling time was 22 days, which was three days slower than last year. One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank boasted the shortest selling time of 13 days, closely followed by one bedroom flats in Leith Walk, Easter Road, Pilrig and Bonnington with a median selling time of 15 days.

Highest percentage of Home Report valuation achieved

One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank also achieved 109.4% of Home Report valuation on average, which was the highest of any property type. Again, this property type was followed by one bedroom flats in Leith Walk, Easter Road, Pilrig and Bonnington which achieved 107.6% of Home Report valuation on average.

Top selling property types

The top selling property type over the last three months was two bedroom flats in Leith, followed by one bedroom flats in Leith and three bedroom houses in Dunfermline.

First time buyer flats in Edinburgh remain in high demand

Jamie Fraser-Davidson, Business Analyst at ESPC, said: “Over the past three months, we have seen another increase in average selling prices compared to last year. We have also seen a significant increase in sales volume which is a result of the increase in properties coming to market over recent months.

“While we have seen a slight increase in the number of homes coming to market over the last three months compared to last year, this increase is much smaller than in previous months. It is possible that the continuing uncertainty over Brexit is starting to affect seller confidence. However, the rising selling prices and sales volume indicates buyer demand is still reasonably strong.

“One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank, as well as Leith Walk and the surrounding areas, achieved the shortest selling times and the highest percentages of Home Report valuation. This indicates that first time buyer homes in the city are still in high demand.”

Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “The high demand for starter homes makes it tricky for first time buyers to purchase a property in the capital. Therefore, Nicola Sturgeon’s recent announcement of a new scheme to loan first time buyers up to £25,000 to boost their deposit is welcome news, as any policy to assist people get on the property ladder would be.

“However, this scheme won’t resolve the issue of the lack of housing stock available to meet the huge demand for homes in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas. Increased regulation of short-term lets has also been announced, which might reduce the number of short-term lets and demand from investors, making it easier for first time buyers to purchase a property, but it may still not be enough to satisfy the strong demand for homes in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas."

Find out more

View the house price table.

Want to know about previous months and years? Read our historical house price data.

Got a question? Have a look at our House Price Report FAQs.

Data from the Scottish Borders is not included in the east central Scotland summary figures. However, the average selling price of properties in the Scottish Borders can be found in the house price table.