For all homeowners seeking to buy a new property, selling your current home can be more challenging than actually finding a new one.
With the increase in the cost of living and general house prices across Edinburgh and the Lothians, finding the best time to put your home on the market and when to look out for the cheapest deal on a new property could prove very useful.
Now property company ESPC have released their latest report that pin points some key findings that homeowners may be able to use to their advantage, including what has proved popular amongst buyers and sellers, as well as the most sought after postcodes.
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Some of the findings in the report include that from February to April, the average selling price of a property across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and and Borders, rose by 6.5% year-on-year to £273,437.
Sales volumes also dropped by a huge 21.2% annually during this period, whilst new property listings dipped 6.5%. This means that there were generally less homes on the market and less homes selling during this period, the transition from winter, to spring.
The median selling time of property during this period was 16 days, and on average, properties attained 106.6% of their home report valuations at sale.
The highest price increases were seen in West Lothian, where market activity has ramped up in recent months thanks to buyers seeking larger, more affordable homes within easy reach of the Capital. In this area, property selling prices rose 37.9% to £276,596.
Overall, Edinburgh saw average property selling prices rise 6.4%, taking the average to £290,456. In the city centre, prices rose 8.9% annually, to £353,189.
Research also revealed that three-bedroom houses continue to be incredibly popular across Edinburgh as a whole. In areas such as Cramond, Barnton and Cammo, three-bedroom properties sold for an average £481,927, a 36% annual rise, which could prove useful for homeowners in these areas.
In Blackhall, Davidsons Mains and Silverknowes, the average selling price for a three-bed house was £496,801 – an increase of 25.2%. In South Queensferry and Dalmeny, this type of property achieved £302,766 on average, 27.5% higher year-on-year. So, it's not surprise to see the average cost plummet as you reach further out of the city centre.
More interesting points from the report point to the fact that buyers are continuing to pay significantly over home report value, with properties attaining 106.6% of their valuation on average.
Homes in East Lothian attained the most over Home Report valuation, as buyers here paid on average 108.3%, a rise of 4.5 percentage points. Given the high demand for homes in these areas, it’s unsurprising to see that buyers bidding for property in Edinburgh’s South West and North West paid 107.6% of Home Report valuation on average, an annual rise of 3.9 percentage points and 5.8 percentage points respectively.
A tip from this information could be for sellers to consider the fact that buyers are still willing to pay over the odds for a property in certain areas of Edinburgh.
Despite fewer sales and a reduction in the properties coming to market, buyers and sellers were still very active and competition remained strong during February-April 2022. The median time for properties to go under offer reduced by 10 days year-on-year, to just 16 days.
