East Lothian property market update
What's been happening in the East Lothian property market?
ESPC takes a closer look at how the property market in the popular region of East Lothian has fared during October-December 2022, with a detailed look at some of the most popular East Lothian areas for house-hunters.
Looking for your next home in East Lothian? Read on for more information on the current status of the housing market there.
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East Lothian property market data – key points
- During the three months of October-December 2022, the average property selling price across East Lothian was £319,668 - 8.6% higher than the same period last year.
- The volume of property sales in East Lothian increases by 5.8% year-on-year.
- The median time for a property in East Lothian to go under offer was 14 days, one day slower than last year.
- The average percentage of Home Report valuation attained in East Lothian was 108.5%, up 2.6 percentage points annually.
Buyers keen to secure their next home
The period of October-December 2022 takes in all of the recent significant changes in the financial market – interest rates increasing to 3.5%, the rising cost-of-living, and changes to energy bills – giving us some indication of the impact on the Scottish property market.
However, the latest ESPC data reveals the housing market in East Lothian is still performing strongly with quick selling times and high levels of the Home Report valuation being achieved although evidence of a cooling within the market from the post-pandemic highs is starting to show.
Despite the recent political and economic changes, owning a home is a good long-term investment and demand for quality local housing stock remains, albeit at a calmer pace than has been seen recently.
The average selling price increased by 8.6% during the last three months of 2022, taking the new average selling price across the region to £319,668, up from £294,412 in October-December 2021. This suggests that buyers are willing to pay over the odds to secure their dream home.
The historic harbour town of Musselburgh continues to be a popular place for first-time buyers as more people recognise its excellent amenities and transport links. Two-bedroom flats in Musselburgh were the most affordable property type, coming in at £177,546. This was followed by two-bedroom houses in Tranent, which sold for an average of £189,370.
The overall most affordable area in East Lothian was Prestonpans, with an average selling price of £219,285. The most expensive area to buy in East Lothian was North Berwick, coming in at £477,727.
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Sales volumes increase as more buyers come to market
Market activity remained strong during October-December 2022 with more buyers coming to the market as shown in sales volumes increasing by 5.8% over the past year.
Musselburgh and Tranent saw a decline in sales volumes, at 13% and 20.5% respectively. These areas have been particularly popular with buyers over the past two years, and these figures indicate that demand here is starting to level off.
However, part of the reduction in sales volumes in these areas could be down to the availability of stock – the figures also show that new property listings in Musselburgh were down 15.5% and 32.1% in Tranent.
Market activity in Dunbar has increased significantly in recent months as low supply and high demand saw property prices soar in the town in 2020/21. In October-December 2022, sales volumes increased by 44.8% year-on-year.
Decline in number of properties coming to the market
In the past two years, the East Lothian housing market has seen demand outstrip supply but the market is starting to cool down. New properties listed for sale declined by 2.7% in October-December 2022.
As we saw for most of 2022, the largest volume of properties listed for sale were in Musselburgh. This was followed by Dunbar and Haddington.
Little change in median selling times and closing dates
Selling times have been slower, and buyers are bidding more for homes, showing signs that the market is gradually returning to the levels we saw in early 2020.
Property selling times have continually decreased across East Lothian in the past two years, but this is potentially starting to cool off as the median selling time for October-December 2022 was 14 days, one day slower than the same time period in 2021.
Out of the various property types in the region, three-bed houses in Musselburgh were the fastest to go under offer across East Lothian, selling in a median time of 12 days, no change year-on-year.
Four-bed houses in Dunbar also sold quickly in 17 days, compared to seven days in 2021.
Looking at the overall picture, properties sold the fastest in Prestonpans, with a median time of 11 days, two days slower than 2021.
The biggest change in selling time was recorded in Haddington with properties taking a median time of 21 days to go under offer, nine days slower than the same time last year.
Working with their ESPC solicitor estate agent, a total of 33.8% of East Lothian sellers opted to set a closing date during October-December 2022, a decrease of 16.2% since the same period last year. In Prestonpans, this rose to 39% of homes for sale (down 6.3% on 2021) and in North Berwick 38% of homes went to a closing date – a decline of 18.7% annually.
East Lothian buyers paid more over Home Report valuations than any other ESPC location
Following the trend seen throughout 2022, East Lothian continued to be an extremely popular location for buyers, with many paying over Home Report valuation.
On average, 91.6% of properties sold for their Home Report valuation or higher, with the average property achieving 108.5% of Home Report valuation at sale – 2.6 percentage points lower than the same period in 2021.
The most desirable homes for buyers were in North Berwick with house hunters paying 110.6% of the valuation on average – a 5.9% increase annually. This was followed by Dunbar at 109.7% – down six percentage points year-on-year.
What does it all mean?
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, explains: “Demand for homes in East Lothian remains incredibly high with strong competition from both buyers and sellers. While the impact of the recent economic changes on the housing market is uncertain, the East Lothian market remains resilient with 91.6% of properties selling for their Home Report valuation or higher.
“It is not surprising that areas like North Berwick, Dunbar, Musselburgh and Haddington are popular areas with families looking for spacious homes in an idyllic coastal or countryside setting that have easy access to the Capital.
“If you are thinking of buying or selling a home in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife or the Borders, get in touch with your local ESPC solicitor estate agent today.”
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