House Price Report November 2022
Property market data: Key points
- Interest in the property market remains strong according to the latest data from ESPC.
- During September-November 2022, the average selling price of property across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders rose 8.8% year-on-year to £294,419.
- Sales volumes dropped 6.9% annually during this period, while new property listings decreased by 2.3%
- The median selling time of property was 16 days, highlighting that buyers were acting quickly to secure their next home.
- On average, properties attained 107% of their Home Report valuations at sale, with 89.7% of properties selling for their Home Report valuation or higher.
- 31.4% of properties went to a closing date.
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Consistent demand for properties despite political uncertainty
The period of September-November 2022 takes in most of the recent significant changes in the financial market – a 0.75% increase in the Bank of England base rate to 3%, the increasing cost-of-living and rising energy bills – giving us some initial indication of the impact on the Scottish property market. Despite political and economic uncertainty, the latest data from ESPC highlights that we continue to see strong interest in home buying and selling with quick selling times and high levels of the Home Report valuation being achieved.
Between September and November 2022, new property listings in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders were down slightly by 2.3 % year-on-year. Volumes are remaining relatively steady highlighting seller confidence in the current property market.
There were high levels of insertions in popular locations out with Edinburgh, with a 12.7% annual increase on homes listed in the Scottish Borders, and a 38.5% rise in property listings in West Lothian.
In terms of property sales, volumes across the area reduced by 6.9% annually, with localised rises and falls in sales volumes highlighting regionalised variations in the property market. Corstorphine and Leith recorded the highest volumes of property sales from ESPC data, closely followed by Dunfermline.
Buyers paying over the odds to secure their dream home
Buyers were still keen to secure their next home between September and November 2022, with the average selling price across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders increasing by 8.8% year-on-year to £294,419.
East Fife and West Lothian recorded some of the highest price increases over the last three months. The average selling price for homes in East Fife was £319,633, an increase of 25.2% annually, while property in West Lothian had an average selling price of £251,735, up 13.3% year-on-year.
The City of Edinburgh saw average property selling prices rise 7.8% annually to £308,868. Following high demand for properties in the past year, two-bedroom flats were popular with Edinburgh buyers.
Many popular first-time buyer areas in the City of Edinburgh saw significant rises in average selling prices. The average selling price of one-bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank increased by 17.3% to £189,175.
Popular with family home buyers, three-bedroom houses in South Queensferry and Dalmeny saw a 17% increase in average selling price, bringing the average selling price in these areas to £306,347.
Blackhall, Davidsons Mains and Silverknowes continued to be popular with home buyers, with average property prices increasing by 13.6% to £462,918 for three-bedroom homes.
Meanwhile, two-bedroom flats in Portobello and Joppa saw a rise of 13.1%, bringing the new average selling price to £290,409 and two-bed flats in Corstorphine also proved to be particularly popular in September-November 2022, with the average selling price increasing by 23.5% year-on-year to £233,681.
The most popular property type in Dunfermline was two-bedroom flats where the selling price was actually up 21.2% year-on-year, bringing the new average selling price to £135,429.
Home Report valuations continue to be exceeded although at a lower rate than last year
From 1 September to 30 November 2022, properties attained an average of 106.9% of their Home Report valuations at sale – 0.2 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Considering that 89.7% of properties sold for at least their Home Report valuation this further highlights the competitive nature that is still prevalent in the property market in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders.
East Lothian properties attained the most over Home Report valuation, with properties achieving 109.5% of their valuations on average – 1.5% lower year-on-year.
This was followed by East Fife and Midlothian where the percentage of Home Report valuation attained was 108.1% and 107.2% (decreases of 1.7% and 0.2% respectively).
The City of Edinburgh continued to be a desirable place to live with the area experiencing the biggest percentage change in Home Report valuation with an increase of 0.9% taking the new average to 106.6%.
Strong competition from buyers with offers being accepted quickly
The property market in Scotland has traditionally remained robust, having weathered previous financially turbulent times well and we anticipate that demand for quality local housing stock will remain steady.
The period of September to November 2022 saw the property market in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and the Borders continue to thrive, with buyers facing strong competition, despite the challenging economic markets
The median time for properties to go under offer was 16 days, one day slower than the previous year but still quicker than the pre-Covid norm.
Homes went under offer the fastest in West Fife and Kinross, in a median time of 12 days (one day slower annually). Meanwhile, properties in East Lothian also performed strongly, with a median time of 13 days for an offer to be accepted.
Looking at Edinburgh specifically, homes sold the fastest in the North West of the city with a median selling time of 14 days. When analysing specific housing types, one-bed flats in Polwarth and two-bed flats in Stenhouse and Leith Links sold the fastest, in 11 days.
What does it all mean?
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, explains:
"There were significant changes to the financial markets and politically in the period of September-November 2022.
"Despite this, activity levels for this time of year are very close to those seen in 2019, which was really the last year of normality before the pandemic, so this should provide some reassurance to buyers that the market is continuing to perform well despite speculation to the contrary.
“We are seeing continued interest in property across all ESPC areas, with noticeable interest in suburbs and rural locations popular with young families and professionals who want to live somewhere with easy access to the Capital. Edinburgh continues to be a desirable place to live with popular first-time buyer areas like Abbeyhill and Portobello seeing buyers paying over Home Report value to secure their dream home.
"For those homeowners considering a move next year, this side of Christmas still remains an optimum time to talk to one of our ESPC Solicitor Estate Agents about your sale. Securing a buyer in the early part of 2023 puts you in a very strong buying position for the Spring market.
“ESPC solicitor estate agents are up to date with what is currently happening in the local market and have the skills and expertise to provide the guidance and support you need.”
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