Edinburgh property market on the up again
From Alastair Jamieson
April 17, 2008
HOUSE prices in the centre of Edinburgh have soared by almost 19 per cent in the past three months - part of a "robust, renewed growth" which has followed last year's
First-quarter results released yesterday by Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESPC) showed average prices in the city rose by 8.3 per cent compared with the same period last year, with the average property now selling for £179,215, compared to £165,450 in 2005.
There were similar jumps across the Lothians as buyers looked outside Edinburgh for bargains, while the number of sales in West Fife and Kinross increased by 40 per cent.
Property experts said the strong growth had been triggered by earlier concern over interest rates and fears of a slowdown. Leslie Deans of Leslie Deans & Co, said the rush of new buyers and sellers flooding onto the market was "as if a stable door had been unlocked".
Premiums paid on "offers over" properties in Edinburgh remained the highest in east-central Scotland, despite a slight fall from 23.3 per cent to 20.2 per cent, while the proportion of properties selling at fixed price - which last year soared in response to worries over affordability - dipped back below the 50 per cent mark once again.
Robin Stimpson, ESPC chairman, said: "While growth in Edinburgh's city centre was strong in the first quarter, buyers continued to look outside the city for bargains. West Lothian saw average prices jump by 15.2 per cent to £145,141. Meanwhile, in East Lothian, average prices stood at £173,126, up by 15.3 per cent."
Falkirk town continued to enjoy significant price growth, as it did throughout 2005, with average prices for the first quarter up by more than 30 per cent. For the Falkirk district as a whole, prices rose by almost 18 per cent. Stirling & Clackmannanshire was the only area in the region to show a downturn in year-on-year prices, dropping by 1.77 per cent. Stirling city itself saw a more marked decrease of 10 per cent, with average prices now standing at £146,863.
> Whilst West Fife & Kinross saw modest growth in average selling prices of just over 2 per cent, sales volume in the area grew by over 40 per cent.
Mr Deans said: "While the market remained solid last year, concern over interest rates and a misconception that the market was on a slow down had caused many people to put a house move on hold.
"But a renewed confidence in the market has released a swell of pent-up demand with buyers looking to move being matched by those people putting their homes up for sale."
However Ron Smith, ESPC chief executive, cautioned : "In spite of these results, reason for optimism to be tempered remains, with average premiums falling 2.5 per cent to 16.8 per cent, while the time it took for properties to sell rose by a little over 8.3 per cent."
John Lints of The Lints Partnership said: "There's no doubt that there is a real spark of new confidence in the market."
