Average House Price Scotland - ESPC House Price Report - October 2024

Property Market Data - Key Points:

• The average selling price of property in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was £288,071 during August-October 2024, up 5.3% year-on-year.
• Properties achieved 102.1% of their Home Report valuation on average, down 1.1 percentage points on the same time last year.
• New property listings were up 11.2% while sales volumes increased 19.1%.
• The median selling time for property was 21 days, the same as seen in August-October 2023.
• 22.3% of homes went to a closing date, down from 23.1% last year.

Average selling prices experienced significant rises across the regions

The average selling price of property in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders experienced a significant increase during August-October 2024, rising 5.3% annually to £288,071.

Across the regions, many areas reported substantial annual increases in average property selling prices: for instance, the Borders saw its average rise 9.5% to £229,480, while Edinburgh’s average jumped 5.8% to £308,132. In East Lothian, property prices rose by 5.9% to £282,291, while in West Fife & Kinross, the average selling price leapt 6.4% to £226,565.

There was an especially interesting swing in Edinburgh city centre, where average selling prices saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 13%, taking the new average to £349,483 and indicating heightened interest in purchasing in the heart of the Capital.

The property hotspot of Dunfermline also experienced a large increase in its average selling prices, with prices rising 13.8% to a new average of £223,724. One-bedroom flats in the city remained the most affordable properties on the market overall, selling for just under £100,000 with an average selling price of £99,383.

Buyers continued to pay closer to Home Report valuations, but some areas saw increases

Properties attained on average 102.1% of their Home Report valuation figure during August-October 2024, which is down 1.1 percentage points on the same time last year. This continues a trend we have seen throughout 2024 so far, as increasing volumes of properties on the market lower expectations on buyers to pay a premium to secure a property. Indeed, 75.6% of properties sold for at least their Home Report valuation during this period, down from 78.7% during the same time last year.

Buyers paid the highest premium for homes in West Fife & Kinross, with properties achieving 103.6% of their valuation on average – this is 0.7 percentage points more than the same time last year. West Lothian also saw an increase, this time of 0.8 percentage points, as buyers paid 101.6% of the Home Report valuation on average.

The Borders offered the biggest bargain for buyers, with homes in the region selling for 100.4% of their Home Report valuation on average, which is 1.2 percentage points less than in August-October 2023.

If we examine Edinburgh, the trendy neighbourhoods on the East of the city commanded the biggest premiums, selling for 103.7% of their Home Report valuation on average. Drilling down into these figures, one-bedroom flats around Leith Walk, Easter Road, Pilrig and Bonnington secured the highest premium of any property type in the city, selling for 106% of their Home Report valuation on average. This is 3.6 percentage points more than in the same time last year, and indicates strong demand from first-time buyers or property investors looking for a home in the area and taking advantage of a better financial climate than seen in recent months.

Sales volumes and insertions both experienced healthy boosts

August-October 2024 was an incredibly busy period for the property market across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders, with significant increases in the volumes of both new property listings and subsequent property sales.

There was an 11.2% annual increase in the volume of properties coming onto the market during this time, which coincides with this period marking two years since the Truss mini-Budget which affected the property market so severely; perhaps we are seeing an influx of homeowners listing their properties at the first opportunity after having had to lock into a two-year fixed mortgage at a higher rate back in autumn 2022.

Dunfermline provided the highest volume of property listings, followed by Leith and Corstorphine as we’ve seen in recent months, subsequently followed by Musselburgh and Portobello.

Indicating strong seller confidence in the market, 82.4% of homeowners chose to list their properties for ‘offers over’, which is 9.8 percentage points higher than the levels seen in August-October 2023.

Sales volumes were also thriving, with levels up 19.1% on the same time last year; this aligns with the first mortgage rate cut seen since autumn 2022 and indicates that prospective buyers or homeowners wanting to move up the ladder have decided to strike at the first opportunity and taken their chance to secure a new property as soon as the financial climate showed signs of improvement.

Once again, two-bedroom flats in Leith were the top sellers, with sales of this type of property up 17% year-on-year. They were closely followed by three-bedroom houses in Dunfermline, whose sales volumes were up 10%.

No change in selling times overall as the property market moved at a healthy pace

The median property selling time during August-October 2024 was 21 days, which is exactly the same as we saw in August-October 2023.

Homes in West Fife & Kinross were the quickest to sell, going under offer in just 13 days, which is four days faster than the same period last year. By contrast, neighbouring East Fife was the slowest to sell, with homes taking 34 days to be snapped up – this is seven days slower than the same time last year. West Lothian saw a significant uptick in its median selling time, with properties in the region selling 13 days faster than they did during August-October last year, selling in 22 days instead of 35.

Three-bedroom houses in Galashiels were the fastest-selling property type overall, with keen buyers snapping up these properties in only seven days – this is 22 days faster than the median selling time of August-October 2023.

Tying into where the highest premium was paid, one-bedroom flats around Leith Walk, Easter Road, Pilrig and Bonnington sold incredibly quickly, flying off the market in just 13 days – which is 11 days faster than they did during the same time last year.

22.3% of properties on the market went to a closing date, down slightly on last year where the level sat at 23.1%. The sought-after Edinburgh suburb of Duddingston was under the highest demand from buyers, as 67% of properties for sale in this neighbourhood had a closing date set.

What does it all mean?

CEO Paul Hilton commented: “Two years on from the disastrous Truss mini-Budget that sent interest rates soaring, the figures that ESPC has recorded this month indicate a clear bounce-back for the Scottish property market over the late summer and into early autumn. Interestingly, as mortgage rates were finally reduced in August 2024, the figures for August-October show an increasingly positive report in terms of activity, with the levels of property listings and sales significantly up on the same time last year. This hints at strong confidence in the market and a great desire from both homeowners and buyers to move up or onto the property ladder now that the overall financial climate offers a better picture than we have seen so far this year, or indeed in the last couple of years.

“As ever, Dunfermline and the areas around Leith and the East of Edinburgh continue to be property hotspots, especially with first-time buyers and those moving up the property ladder into their first family homes. There’s also been positive signs across the Borders too, with family homes selling quickly and property prices rising, while also allowing the opportunity to purchase property close to its valuation price.

“As ever, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife or the Borders, contact your local ESPC solicitor estate agent for the latest in-depth information and advice specific to your local area.”