Page 15 - March 2023

THE PROPERTY MARKET

The House Price Report: February 2023

We take a closer look at how the property market performed in February
2023 and examine how it is returning to pre-pandemic norms.

ombining the quieter month of In terms of property sales, volumes across
December, with the traditional Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders
Cpopularity of the market in February, reduced by 19.7% annually.
the most recent house price data from ESPC annually to £219,292. The average selling price
gives a clear overview of how the rising cost However, many buyers were still keen 140
of living and financial market changes have to secure their dream home between in Dunfermline was £210,896, up 12.7% year-on-
impacted the property market in Edinburgh, December 2022 and February 2023, with year. solicitor estate agents
the Lothians, Fife and the Scottish Borders. the average selling price of property ready to help you buy and sell homes
across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and The City of Edinburgh saw average property
In December 2022-February 2023, new the Borders increasing 2.2% year-on-year selling prices rise 2.3% to £293,096. Following 2000
property listings in Edinburgh, the Lothians, to £277,326, despite continued reports of high demand for homes in the past year, two
Fife, and the Borders were down by 2.7% market uncertainty. and three-bedroom properties continued to be homes for sale
popular with Edinburgh buyers.
year-on-year as homeowners waited to see
how the market panned out before listing a By way of context, in December 2018-February 560,000
property for sale. 2019, the average house price was £238,263, In December 2022-February 2023, many My ESPC emails sent during February
highlighting the high demand for properties homes sold for their Home Report valuation
However, there were some areas that bucked in the past four years has pushed up prices or higher, with the average property achieving
this trend, primarily out-of-town areas and following the Covid pandemic. 103.6% of Home Report valuation at sale. If
places slightly outside Edinburgh city centre. we compare this to December 2018-February In December 2022-February 2023, homes went
Dunfermline, Leith and Musselburgh saw West Fife & Kinross recorded some of the 2019, before the market was disrupted due to under offer in East Lothian and West Lothian in
rises in new property listings (an increase of highest price increases over the last month Covid lockdowns, when the average property a median time of 20 days, six and seven days
achieved 102.4% of Home Report valuation at
26.3%, 24.6% and 20.4% respectively). with the average selling price rising 15% slower year-on-year respectively.
sale, we can see that the market is returning to
nearer to pre-pandemic norms. Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, explains: “The
market in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and
Key points £277,326 East Lothian properties attained the most the Borders is continuing to perform well with
strong competition for properties and 80.7%
over Home Report valuation, with properties
of properties selling for their Home Report
achieving 105.7% of their valuations on average
average selling price
– 3.9 percentage points lower year-on-year.
valuation or higher.
The average selling price rose 2.2% year-on-year to £277,326.
Properties in the City of Edinburgh achieved “There has been continued interest in areas
103.5% of their valuations on average – a such as Leith, Dunfermline and Musselburgh,
103.6% 22 days decline of 1.6 percentage points annually. which are popular with young families and
professionals who want homes with more space
average percentage of Home median time to sell and good transport links to the city centre.
Report valuation achieved The median time for properties to go under
offer in December 2022-February 2023 was
On average, buyers paid 103.6% of The median selling time for 22 days, four days slower than the previous “The spring market is expected to be busy
Home Report valuation, down 2.1% properties was 22 days, four days year. Comparing this to the same period and there are promising signs that the market
annually. slower than the previous year. pre-pandemic, homes went under offer in 27 is currently continuing to outperform the pre-
days in December 2018-February 2019. pandemic levels and other parts of the UK.”

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