July From the Agent’s Point of View
Commenting on the month’s property news and statistics which are summarised below, MOV8 Real Estate’s Managing Director, Robert Carroll, stated:
“It was interesting to see reports that Scotland is outperforming the London property market at the moment. With other parts of the UK experiencing challenging property market conditions after years of boom, it is likely that investors into the UK property market will seek alternatives. Scotland in particular seems like a safe bet. If this does happen, it can only have a positive effect on house prices north of the border.
“Buyers have been out in force throughout July, so sales activity has remained strong. However, supply to the market tends to fall at this time of year as potential property sellers with children juggle the thought of moving home with the reality of having wee ones dashing around the house all day long! The Scottish schools return in the next few days so we’d expect to see a bit of pent-up demand being released.
“Market conditions across Scotland are great and we have experienced strong demand and quick sales in the West, North East and East of Scotland for the past few weeks. It was particularly exciting to open our new Glasgow office in Renfrew Street last week.
“With our current Free Marketing Pack promotion running until the end of August, it’s a great opportunity for property sellers to save a considerable amount of money if they are thinking of selling in late summer or autumn.”
Scottish Property Market Conditions Remain Strong
The latest statistics from the UK House Price Index (HPI) show that the average price of a property in Scotland in May 2019 was £152,801 – an increase of 2.8% versus May of the previous year. Compared with the previous month, house prices in Scotland rose by 1.2% between April 2019 and May 2019.
Average price increases were recorded in the majority (23) of local authorities, when comparing prices with the previous year. The biggest price increases were in North Ayrshire and Stirling, while the largest decreases were in Aberdeen City and South Ayrshire.
The Property Market Report 2018-19 from the Registers of Scotland show that the value of residential sales was £18.2 billion, this is an increase of 1.6% when compared with 2017-18. The residential sales market has increased by 67% since 2009-10 and reached an 11-year-high in 2018-19, but remains 21% below the pre-financial crisis level in 2007-08 (£23.1 billion).
The Scottish property market is exhibiting stability during what is a turbulent time in other parts of the UK market. A recent BBC article highlighted that Scotland is Britain’s fastest selling property market, trumping London. Miles Shipside, Housing Market Analyst from Rightmove said: “Whilst it would be easy to link that with the Brexit vote, there are other factors at play, especially increasingly stretched buyer affordability”.
Increase in Average Selling Prices and Sales Volume in East Central Scotland but Fewer Properties Coming to the Market
Between April and June 2019, the average selling price in east central Scotland rose to £255,905, a 6.6% increase on last year according to ESPC.
In Edinburgh, the average selling price during this period was £272,375 a 5% increase on last year while East Lothian saw a 15.5% lift, rising to £252,303. West Fife & Kinross saw average selling prices increasing by 8.1% and Midlothian properties grew by 6.1%. Meanwhile the average selling price of properties in West Lothian fell by 4.4%.
In the same period, the total volume of residential property sales in east central Scotland rose by 5.6% year on year. However, the number of properties coming to market during these three months decreased by 8.3% across east central Scotland.
Jamie Fraser-Davidson, Business Analyst at ESPC, said: “It is likely that sellers are being cautious due to ongoing political turbulence in the UK. However, as evidenced by increasing sales volumes, rising average selling prices and relatively short selling times, buyer demand remains strong in east central Scotland.”
We’re Here to Help
If you are thinking of selling your home or investment property, get in touch with us by calling 0345 646 0208 (Option 1) or by emailing [email protected] to organise a free valuation of your home or to get a full, transparent breakdown of the costs of selling your home.
You can also instantly book a free valuation appointment online by following this link.
If you are looking to buy a property as a home or investment, please call 0345 646 0208 (Option 2) or email [email protected] and we will be happy to help.
Leave a Reply