House Price Report May 2019

*Please find full area breakdown in the House Price Table.*

Key points

• From March to May 2019, the average selling price in east central Scotland was £248,180 compared to £239,833 last year, which was a 3.5% increase
• The total sales volume during this three month period increased by 14.3% year-on-year
• The number of insertions from March to May 2019 increased by 0.3% compared to last year
• Between March and May 2019, the median time to sell in east central Scotland was 21 days, which is two days slower than the same period last year
• The average percentage of Home Report valuation achieved in east central Scotland was 103.2% during these three months compared to 104.7% during the same three months last year
• 28.9% of properties had a closing date compared to 32.8% last year.

Increasing sales volume in east central Scotland

Between March and May 2019, the volume of property sales in east central Scotland increased by 14.3% compared to last year. Within Edinburgh, the sales volume increased by 18.9% year-on-year. This is a result of more properties coming to market in recent months which has helped to meet some of the strong demand for properties.

However, the past three months saw only a very small increase in the number of properties coming to market in east central Scotland, with a 0.3% increase in property listings compared to last year. Within Edinburgh, the volume of listings dropped by 1.9% during this period.

From March to May 2019, the average selling price across east central Scotland was £248,180, which was a 3.5% increase compared to last year. In Edinburgh, the average selling price was £262,700 which was a 1.2% increase compared to last year.

Within the capital, three bedroom houses in Liberton and Gilmerton experienced the largest year-on-year increase in average selling price during the past three months, rising by 13.2% to £233,918. Two bedroom flats in Portobello and Joppa experienced the biggest decrease, falling by 16.7% to £224,173. One bedroom flats in Polwarth, Shandon and Tollcross also experienced a significant decrease, falling by 15.4% to £171,607. In these areas, the significant decreases in average selling prices are mostly due to higher value properties being sold last year.

Outwith Edinburgh, East Lothian properties saw a significant year-on-year increase in average selling price, rising by 14.2% to £251,362. This is due to a few particularly high value properties driving up the average selling price. Properties in West Lothian saw prices increase by 7.3% year-on-year rising to £213,050.

Over the past three months, the median selling time for properties in east central Scotland was 21 says, which was two days slower than the same period last year. Within Edinburgh, the median selling time was 20 days, which was three days slower than last year.

One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank boasted the shortest selling time from March to May 2019, with half all properties in these areas placed under offer within 13 days. One bedroom flats in Polwarth, Shandon and Tollcross experienced a median selling time of 14 days.

One bedroom flats in Abbeyhill and Meadowbank also achieved 110.4% of Home Report valuation on average, which was the highest of any property type. One bedroom flats in Leith Walk, Easter Road, Pilrig and Bonnington achieved 108.1% of Home Report valuation on average.

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

Jamie Fraser-Davidson, Business Analyst at ESPC, said: “There has been a significant increase in sales volume over the past three months in east central Scotland. This is likely a result of the increase in the number of properties coming to market at the end of 2018 and start of 2019.

“However, over the past three months the number of properties coming to market has only increased very slightly compared to last year in east central Scotland – within Edinburgh, there has actually been a small decrease. This suggests seller confidence is waning slightly, possibly as a result of ongoing political uncertainty over Brexit.

“Although the rise in sales volume and average selling prices suggest buyer demand remains strong. This is particularly evident with starter homes in the city, with one bed flats in areas such as Abbeyhill and Meadowbank achieving short selling times and high average percentages over Home Report valuation.”