Page 14 - May 2023

THE PROPERTY MARKET

The House Price Report: April 2023

We take a closer look at how the property market performed in February-April
2023 and discuss how the market is rebalancing after a busy three years.

he period of February to April 2023 onward buyers, shouldn’t be discouraged by
shows clear signs that the housing this slight overall average decline.
Tmarket in Edinburgh, the Lothians,
Fife and the Borders is continuing to calm, In addition to changing house prices, new
following years of high demand and high property listings in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Leith
price growth. Fife and the Borders were down by 3.7%
year-on-year as some homeowners have
For the first time in a number of years, adopted a more cautious approach to 40% and 4% increase of property sales
selling prices recorded a small decline when selling their home. compared to the same period last year. 140
compared annually. The average selling price
of property across Edinburgh, the Lothians, There was an increase in listings in some In February-April 2023, 76.6% of properties solicitor estate agents
Fife and the Borders fell by 1.1% year-on-year, of ESPC’s traditionally popular areas. sold for their Home Report valuation or higher, ready to help you buy and sell homes
now standing at £267,679. Dunfermline saw a rise of 23.8%, whilst listings with the average property achieving 102.7% of
in Corstorphine increased by 22.6% and new Home Report valuation at sale – highlighting Over
However, this is substantially higher than property listings rose by 10.5% in Leith. that buyers in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife, and 2,000
the same period in 2019, when the average the Borders are keen to secure their next home homes for sale
selling price was £242,840 (relevant as this Overall property sales volumes across but are reacting to wider market influences
was the last year before the Covid boom). Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders including higher interest rates.
Many sellers will be experiencing equity gains reduced by 8.6% annually. However, both 600,000
within their property over this time and, as East Fife and Midlothian had a respective This is very similar to the data recorded in the My ESPC emails sent during April
same period in 2019 when 75.2% of properties
sold for their Home Report valuation or higher,
and property sales achieved 102.7% of Home
Key points £267,679 that the reported year-on-year figures are likely with rising interest rates and the cost-of-living
Report valuation on average at sale. We can see
crisis, this led to buyers acting with caution, but
more natural market restabilisation
average selling price
the housing market is still performing strongly
The average selling price fell by 1.1% year-on-year to £267,679.
The median time for properties to go under
offer was 28 days. This is 12 days slower than despite speculation to the contrary.
last year, however only two days slower than in “The levelling off of house prices and the
102.7% 28 days February-April 2019 once again highlighting the slightly slower median selling times is a sign the
natural readjustment of the market. market is rebalancing and activity is returning to
average percentage of Home median time to sell 2019 levels. Properties are still selling well and
Report valuation achieved
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “The period of most are attracting a premium.
On average, buyers paid 102.7% The median selling time for properties February-April 2023 has seen the property
of Home Report valuation. was 28 days, continuing the trend market continue to rebalance after an “As we enter a more balanced phase for the
we’ve seen recently of selling times unprecedented period which led to low housing market, it really is more important than ever
returning to pre-Covid norms. stock and high demand, as well as high selling to work with your ESPC solicitor estate agent
prices and incredibly quick selling times. Coupled when buying or selling.”

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