Industry reacts to the latest ESPC House Price Report

In our July House Price Report, we revealed how well the property market in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Scottish Borders is currently operating, with great opportunities for both home buyers and sellers.

This sentiment has been echoed by the expert solicitor estate agents who advertise homes for sale on espc.com and handle the complete property transaction.

David Easton, Director of Property at Neilsons Solicitors and Estate Agents says:

“The latest ESPC House Price Report is very encouraging. It’s unusual to see a report that benefits both buyers and sellers, but the stability of house prices demonstrated provides breathing space for buyers to make good decisions, whilst premiums being paid over home report value, speedy selling times and a significant increase in sales volume offers confidence to sellers too. The traditionally resilient Edinburgh and Lothians market has proved itself once again, recovering well from the blip caused by Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget and the following spike in interest rates.

“At Neilsons, we marketed almost 500 properties over the past three-month period, with 385 properties going Under Offer during this time receiving 1,024 offers, indicating buoyant market activity.

“The average selling time was just 21 days, and whilst quick sales are welcome for many, the most advantageous position for a seller is often to let it run for a little period of time to see if further interest can be obtained to achieve a highly competitive closing date scenario, where interested parties will submit their best Offer in a blind bidding process.

“Closing Dates are still very much a feature in the current market. One property with a Home Report of £950k recently achieved 20% over Home Report value at a very competitive closing date after only three weeks of marketing at Neilsons. Whilst every sale and situation is of course unique, sometimes a little bit of patience can pay off for sellers, as tempting as it may be to take the first Offer received unless it is a considerable amount over Home Report value. For correctly priced and professionally marketed properties, this is a very strong sales market with lots of buyer demand.

“We’re certainly heading into interesting times for the market here with the high street mortgage lenders cutting rates which is sure to provide stimulation to the property market. It is unlikely that the price stability will be around for long with demand starting to outstrip supply.”

Angela Connery, Property Manager at Beveridge & Kellas says:

“I am still finding this current market very unpredictable but with the schools back and the recent interest rate announcement hopefully confidence and affordability will filter through.
“We had a property yesterday that sold over value that had only been on espc.com for about 18 hours. Another property had over 160 viewing requests and received 32 offers. On the flip side, we have had to change a few properties to a fixed price because of the lack of viewings and some are still sitting for no apparent reason.
“In property there will always be bumps in the road and like always we still get to our destination – eventually.”

The team at maloco mowat parker in Dunfermline have also been reacting to the news, crediting ESPC Exclusive to some of their recent successful sales. Keiran Newman, Property Director and senior valuer comments:

“At maloco mowat parker we are enthusiastic in the findings presented in the latest ESPC House Price Report, which closely align with our own experience. We have a positive market in Dunfermline, and the wider West Fife and Kinross area, with great options for home buyers and sellers.

“As the House Price Report highlights properties are selling quickly in Dunfermline. We were delighted recently when a charming Victorian cottage we were selling in Dunfermline sold within just 48 hours of going to market. More importantly, our clients were absolutely thrilled and that of course is what really counts. Exceeding client expectations is what maloco mowat parker strive for and we are in no doubt that ESPC's Exclusive product is pivotal in helping us achieve this goal.”

Want to find out more about the local property market?

Get in touch with one of the firms above or find a local solicitor estate agent today.