House Price Report September 2021
Property Market Data - Key Points
- In these figures, we start to see how the market has behaved year-on-year since the initial heavy lockdown restrictions were lifted at the very end of June 2020.
- The average selling price of homes in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders rose by 4% year-on-year during July to September, to £275,714.
Properties attained an average of 106.5% of their Home Report valuations. - The number of property sales increased by 45.4% in comparison to July-September 2020, while the number of properties coming to the market reduced by 31.1%.
- Lower-priced properties came onto the market in higher volumes, with the average Home Report valuation down 4.8% year-on-year.
- The median selling time was just 14 days, seven days quicker than 2020.
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Average selling prices continue to rise, with Fife seeing the biggest increases
The period of July to September 2021 saw a continuation of high levels of activity on the property market across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, particularly from buyers hoping to secure future-proof homes outside of the City Centre.
The average property selling price rose 4% year-on-year during this time, up to £275,714 from £265,147 in 2020.
Properties in East Fife experienced the largest jump in average selling prices, rising 12.4% to £276,015. This was closely followed by neighbouring West Fife & Kinross, where homes rose by 9.1% to an average selling price of £201,030. Fife has proven particularly popular with buyers searching for extra space and good affordability, with convenient links into Edinburgh.
Homes in East Lothian continued to be popular with buyers, as prices rose 5.3% on 2020, to an average of £290,187.
Looking at Edinburgh, there are variations on average selling prices, depending on property types and neighbourhoods. Overall, homes in Edinburgh saw their average selling price rise by 2.5% to £290,882, but we can break this down further to see where demand was strongest. Properties in the city’s South Western suburbs experienced a 26.2% increase in average selling price, to £402,403, while homes in the City Centre saw a 4.2% reduction, to £320,575.
Three-bedroom houses in the North West neighbourhoods of Cramond, Barnton and Cammo rose 41.5%, taking the average selling price to £467,043, and two-bedroom flats in the West End and New Town increased by 30.1% to £452,661, as demand began to bounce back for this type of property. These selling price increases are in part due to much higher volumes of property sales in these areas, resulting in a broader range of properties coming to market.
The most affordable property type could be found in Dunfermline, where one-bedroom flats sold for an average of £75,070.
Buyers continue to pay over Home Report valuation for rural homes
The market was competitive during July to September 2021, resulting in buyers bidding an average of 106.5% of Home Report valuation in order to secure their chosen homes, three percentage points higher than the same time in 2020.
Homes in East Lothian continued to draw the biggest bids, with buyers paying an average of 110.6% of Home Report valuation, 8.4 percentage points higher year-on-year. This was closely followed by East Fife, where homes achieved 110.1% of Home Report valuation, up 6.4 percentage points. Homes in the Borders also proved popular, with properties there attaining 106.6% of their Home Report valuation, an 8 percentage points increase.
In Edinburgh, three-bedroom houses in Cramond, Barnton and Cammo proved popular once more, as buyers bid 109.4% of Home Report valuation on average – an increase of 9.4 percentage points.
One-bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank saw a 6.1 percentage point reduction, with homes selling for an average 102.6% of the valuation.
A higher volume of lower-priced properties came onto the market during July-September 2021, as the average Home Report valuation was down by 4.8%. This ties into the evidence that we have seen of larger numbers of homeowners selling smaller ‘starter’ properties in an effort to secure larger family homes with more versatile accommodation.
37.6% of homes went to a closing date during July-September 2021; up from 27.8% in 2020.
Suburban and rural properties sell the fastest as buyer demand intensifies
Buyers snapped up homes in a matter of days during July-September 2021, particularly in rural areas and city suburbs.
Overall, homes in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders had a median selling time of just 14 days, seven days quicker than the same period in 2020.
The Borders proved especially popular with buyers looking for a lifestyle change; homes here sold in 13 days, 59 days faster than in 2020.
This was closely echoed in East Fife, where homes sold 58 days quicker than in 2020, taking 12 days to go under offer.
Homes went under offer fastest in West Fife & Kinross, where they were on the market for the median time of just 10 days, half the time they took to sell in 2020.
In Edinburgh City Centre, properties sold eight days slower than they did in July-September 2020, with a median selling time of 30 days.
Edinburgh’s suburbs maintained high levels of buyer demand, with properties in the North West selling in a median of 13 days – 49 days faster year-on-year. Three-bedroom houses in Cramond, Barnton and Cammo had a median selling time of 13 days, which was 58 days quicker than last year.
The fastest median selling time was just seven days, which applies to two-bedroom flats in Dalkeith, four-bedroom houses in Dunfermline and two-bedroom houses in Tranent.
Property sales increase again, but less homes come on to the market
There was yet another increase in the volume of property sales across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, rising 45.4% year-on-year. However, this may be skewed by buyers being cautious during the early part of July-September 2020, as lockdown restrictions and schemes such as mortgage holidays and the furlough scheme were still in place.
Leith once again boasted the highest volume of property sales overall; two-bedroom flats here were the most-purchased property, with a 38.9% increase on sales in comparison to 2020. This was followed by one-bedroom flats in the area, up 41.4%.
The demand has been intensified by a reduced number of properties coming to the market, down 31.1% year-on-year. This can be attributed to an influx of homes listed immediately following the lockdown lifting in June/July 2020, and a flood of homeowners looking to find a new home. For balance, 2021’s figures are 2.18% above the levels we saw in 2019, showing that the market is beginning to return to more normal levels.
Dunfermline had the highest volume of properties listed for sale, but this figure was down 39.7% on the levels seen in 2020.
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “This has been yet another busy quarter for the property market across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, with increasing buyer demand in evidence across most of our markets.
“Unsurprisingly, we’re continuing to see that homes in Edinburgh’s suburbs and more rural regions outside of the Capital, such as Fife and East Lothian, are the most in-demand, as buyers look for properties that can offer flexibility in the longer term. However, we are starting to see a return to form for flats in some sought-after areas of Edinburgh’s City Centre, indicating increasing desire to reside in the heart of the Capital.
“The volume of available properties is returning to where we would have expected to see them pre-pandemic; however, with more buyers searching for homes and less availability on the market, we can expect this to impact average selling prices, the amount over Home Report valuation properties will attain and the speed at which homes go under offer.
“However, there are higher levels of more affordable homes on the market, meaning that there are still plenty of options for first-time buyers.
“If you are considering buying or selling in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, get in touch with your local ESPC solicitor estate agent today.”
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Find out more
Find out average property selling prices for different areas and property types in our house price table.
See data for previous months and years in our historical house price spreadsheet.
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