Price of one bedroom flats rise by more than a quarter

The ESPC has reported that average selling prices for one bedroom flats in areas including Polwarth, Shandon and Tollcross have gone up by 27.6% annually.

ESPC’s December House Price report reveals that these three areas have shown the greatest increase in selling prices in the period between October and December 2015, when compared with the same period last year. The house selling organisation believes this could be attributed to the area becoming a popular place for first time buyers. The area is traditionally associated with students and young professionals, but it has also become a popular area for buy-to-lets.

Other areas that have shown dramatic growth include South Queensferry and Dalmeny, where the average price of a three bedroom house has increased by 20%, and Leith, the Shore and Granton, where a two bedroom flat has increased in average price by 19.1%.

For east central Scotland overall, average property prices have increased by 4.9% between October and December 2015. The increase in prices could partly be attributed to a 6.1% decrease in new homes being brought to market when compared to October and December 2014. This means there is increased competition for particular properties, driving up the prices as buyers snap up available properties.

The number of homes sold in east central Scotland between October and December of 2015 rose by 2.0% annually. This is quite a decrease when compared to a 17.1% rise in the last house price report, which can partly be explained by the seasonal slowdown in the lead up to Christmas, with less properties on the market.

ESPC’s business analysis Maria Botha Lopez said: “We’ve seen a decrease in the number of new homes being brought to market. But for the next few months we’ll need to keep in mind that we are comparing the number of new listings with the period last year when the Land Buildings Transaction Tax change was announced, and when sellers decided to bring their properties on to the market to meet buyer demand, before the new tax rates came into place. For 2015 overall, there was a 1.7% decrease in number of new homes brought to market.

“We are seeing that properties are selling quickly as a result of competition for available stock, with properties now selling 33.5% faster when compared to the same three-month period a year ago – from 53 days down to 35 days.

“This is a good time for sellers to bring their properties to market, as they have a good chance of them being sold quickly, and meeting the Home Report valuation.”