House Price Report August 2022
Property Market Data: Key Points
- During June-August 2022, the average selling price of property across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders rose 7.4% year-on-year to £296,617.
- Sales volumes dropped by 13.8% annually during this period, while new property listings increased by 0.4%.
- The median selling time of property was 14 days.
- On average, properties attained 108.6% of their Home Report valuations at sale.
- 38% of properties went to a closing date.
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Prices rose year-on-year in many suburban and out-of-town areas
It was an interesting quarter for the property market across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, with clear patterns developing across some of ESPC’s key market areas.
Across all regions, the average selling price rose 7.4% to £296,617 year-on-year, as demand across the property market continued to thrive.
The highest price increases were seen in West Lothian, where market activity has increased in recent months thanks to buyers seeking larger, more affordable homes within easy reach of the Capital. In this area, property selling prices rose 23.5% to £261,251. West Fife and Kinross also reported high price increases, with an average selling price of £233,395 – 18.6% higher year-on-year.
East Fife has been consistently popular over the past two years but property selling prices were down 4.4%, indicating that demand in this region is starting to level off.
Dunfermline, which continues to be a hotspot for first-time buyers saw an average selling price increase of 9.1%, taking it up to £221,396 annually. Popular with commuters and young families, perhaps buyers have been seeking out homes in this area to enjoy the benefits of suburban living balanced with excellent transport links to Edinburgh.
Overall, Edinburgh saw average property selling prices rise 8%, taking the average to £316,475. In the city centre, prices rose 18.7% annually to £372,761. Following a period of high demand for properties in the past year, two-bedroom flats and three-bedroom houses continued to be particularly popular with Edinburgh buyers.
Two-bedroom flats in Morningside sold for £396,639, a 25.7% annual rise. This was followed by three-bedroom houses in Corstorphine, which rose by 9.7% to £436,466, and two-bedroom flats in Liberton where the average selling price increased by 9.1% to £194,815.
The most popular property in Dunfermline was three-bedroom houses where the selling price was up 12.5% annually, bringing the new average selling price to £223,544. The average selling price of four-bedroom houses in the town rose by 19.3% to £342,794. The third most popular property type in the area was two-bedroom flats, which are now being sold for an average of £128,099 – up 12.4% year-on-year.
Local market activity remains strong
The property market in Edinburgh, Lothians, Fife and the Borders experienced a busy quarter as we start to see more ‘normal’ levels of activity compared to June-August 2021 when the market was experiencing significant pent-up demand as a result of the post lockdowns.
Over the past three months, sales volumes across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders reduced by 13.8%, while new property listings were up by 0.4%.
Two-bedroom flats in Leith sold in the highest volumes during this period, with levels up 1.6% annually. Two-bedroom flats in Dunfermline saw a 21.7% increase in sales volumes, while three-bedroom houses in the town saw sales volumes fall by 7.9%.
Sellers in Dunfermline were the most active, with the highest volume of properties listed for sale in this area during this quarter, with insertions volumes rising 26.7% annually. Corstorphine also saw an increase here, with insertions rising by 1.9% year-on-year. However, Musselburgh and Trinity saw declines of 22.9% and 13.4% respectively.
Offers over Home Report valuations continued to rise in many areas
Buyers also continued to pay significantly over Home Report value, with properties attaining 108.6% of their Home Report value on average – 2.6 percentage points higher than June-August 2021. This was perhaps compounded by the number of homes going to a closing date, which rose 1.7% to 38%.
East Lothian attained the most over Home Report valuation, with properties achieving 111.5% of their valuations on average – 2.3% higher year-on-year. This was followed by West Fife and Kinross which had the biggest jump in percentage points since last year at 2.9%, taking its new total of average percentage of Home Report valuation attained to 109.3%.
Edinburgh continued to be a desirable place to live, with buyers paying 108.2% over Home Report value, a rise of 2.8% annually.
Properties still selling quickly
Despite fewer sales and a reduction in new property listings, the Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders market continued to thrive with buyers and sellers facing strong competition in June-August 2022. The median time for properties to go under offer reduced by one day year-on-year to 14 days.
Homes sold the fastest in Midlothian and West Fife and Kinross, in a median time of 12 days. Meanwhile, properties in East Lothian also performed strongly, with a median selling time of 13 days.
Looking at Edinburgh specifically, the fastest-selling homes could be found in the East and West of the city with a median time of 13 days. When analysing specific housing types, two-bedroom flats in Morningside and two-bedroom flats in Leith were sold quickly at 12 and 13 days respectively.
Three and four-bed houses in Dunfermline were also snapped up quickly, going under offer in nine and 10 days respectively.
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, commented: “It has been another busy quarter for the property market, with growth seen in many areas and buyers still willing to pay over the Home Report valuation for many properties.
“Edinburgh city centre continues to be a desirable area to live with two-bedroom flats and three-bedroom houses continuing to be particularly popular with buyers. Flats in Morningside and Leith sold quickly during this period.
“We can see that there is still very strong demand for homes outside of the city centre that offer great transport links, where a larger property is more affordable for many. Areas such as West Lothian and Midlothian are seeing significant leaps in demand, while we’re continuing to see strong interest for East Lothian and East Fife – regions which have both thrived throughout the past two years.
“For buyers starting out on their property journey, Leith and and Dunfermline continue to be hotspots for young families and professionals.
“If you are considering buying or selling in any of our of these areas, get in touch with your local ESPC solicitor estate agent today.”
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