Edinburgh house prices continue to climb according to two new sets of property statistics from the ESPC and the Registers of Scotland.
The ESPC statistics for the month of April put the average Edinburgh house price at £224,931, following an annual increase of 11.6%. The report goes on to say that this is the second consecutive month in which annual inflation has exceeded 10%.
In further signs that the Edinburgh housing market is continuing to benefit from historically low interest rates (unchanged at 0.5% since March 2009), the number of Edinburgh homes selling rose by 37% annually to 450 properties.
Selling times on Edinburgh homes have also shortened, to 15 weeks, six weeks lower than in April 2009. And buyers have been raising their bids, with "offers over" now at 10%, the highest level since October 2008 and up from a little less than 5% in April 2009.
RoS sees volume up, prices up
Meanwhile, statistics from the Registers of Scotland (RoS) for the fourth quarter of the 2009/2010 financial year, reveal that the average price of an Edinburgh home has risen to £211,942 from £186,170, an increase of 13.8% on the previous year.
The median price of an Edinburgh home for the same period rose to £168,000 from £150,230.
The Registers of Scotland figures cover all residential sales, including sales for cash not involving a mortgage.
As well as having the most expensive homes in Scotland, the City of Edinburgh remains the largest market with over £307.5 million recorded sales (up from £216.9 million in Q4) according to the RoS statistics. A total 1,451 properties were sold during the period, compared to 1,158 in the same three month period the year before, an increase of 19.7%.
The ESPC figures for January to March 2010 saw a more modest price increase of 5.9% in the average Edinburgh home from £195,895 to £207,420.