House prices continue to rise in Edinburgh and the Lothians, supported by a historically low Bank of England base rate of 0.5%, unchanged since March 2009.
According to statistics from the Edinburgh Solictor and Property Centre (ESPC), the average house price in Edinburgh increased from £207,890 to £227,760 between the second quarter (April to June) of 2009 and the same period in 2010. The rise of almost £20,000 represents an annual increase of 9.6%.
The ESPC reported average house prices across East Central Scotland rose steadily in most regions during the second quarter of 2010. However, larger family houses generally saw much greater annual house price inflation than one-bedroom flats.
In Edinburgh, a four-bedroom house added £66,175 to its value, rising annually 18.6% from £355,447 to £421,622. Meanwhile, one-bedroom flats rose by 1.2% from £130,534 to £132,093.
"Larger properties have seen higher rises, and there have also been certain areas within the city where demand has been very high, with places like Marchmont and Stockbridge seeing significant growth," said David Marshall, business analyst at the ESPC.
Marshall added: "The months ahead should see inflation ease, with the rising number of properties on the market offering buyers greater choice meaning that they should be able to have more success in negotiations than may have been possible earlier in the year.”
In the last year, sellers capitalised on buoyant market conditions with a 32.7% rise in completed sales in Edinburgh to 1,500 – the highest level in two years.
RoS May 2010 figures
By way of comparison, latest figures from the Registers of Scotland for the month of May put the average Edinburgh house price at £215,074. RoS recorded 658 sales in May, worth a total £141,518,757. The government statistician's report for April to June house prices is due out in August. See Edinburgh quarterly house prices 2003-2010.
Rising tide lifts large boats higher
ESPC selling prices for Edinburgh by property type in Q2 2010 (and Q2 2009):
- 1-bedroom flat: £132,093 (£130,534) Up 1.2%
- 2-bedroom flat: £189,790 (£173,435) Up 9.4%
- 3-bedroom flat: £283,395 (£252,209) Up 12.4%
- 2-bedroom house: £189,140 (£176,029) Up 7.4%
- 3-bedroom house: £275,946 (£265,199) Up 4.1%
- 4-bedroom house: £421,622 (£355,447) Up 18.6%
Regional housing picture
Overall, the average house price across East Central Scotland rose from £191,095 during the second quarter of 2009 to £212,921 during the same period this year – an annual rise of 11.4%.
The number of homes sold also showed a large increase with completed sales in East Central Scotland up almost 25% annually to over 2,100.
House prices in the Lothians showed strong growth during the second quarter of the year with annual inflation of between 12% and 20% across the region.
In East Lothian the average house price reached £210,521 following a year-on-year rise of 12.7%. This also marked the fourth consecutive quarter in which the average house price in the area had exceeded £200,000. In Midlothian a 15.4% rise took the average selling price to £180,884 while an increase of just over 20% took the average selling price of a property in West Lothian to £167,649.
The ESPC said that the large rises recorded in the Lothians followed falls in price at this time last year, meaning that average house prices in East and Midlothian are now back in line with levels witnessed in 2008.
Prices in West Lothian remain below the peak value of £191,775 recorded in Q2 2008 but were broadly in line with levels witnessed over the last nine months.
As was the case in most areas of East Central Scotland, the number of properties being brought to the market in the Lothians exceeded the number of sales, resulting in a rise in the number of homes available for sale in the region. There are now around 1,300 properties for sale in the Lothians through ESPC, an increase of over 20% compared to this time last year.