Property Market Update March 2017

House Prices Continue to Rise While Selling Times Continue to Fall

Continuing the trend that we saw through 2016 and at the start of 2017, the latest house price report from ESPC revealed this month that house prices are continuing to rise whilst selling times are falling.

For the period from December 2016 to February 2017, house prices across East Central Scotland increased by 5.3% from ยฃ206,349 to ยฃ217,179. This is an increase on the previously reported increase, covering the period from November 2016 to January 2017, which stood at 3.7%.

Across Scotland as a whole, the latest Registers of Scotland (RoS) UK House Price Index (UK HPI) shows that, at the end of January 2017, the average selling price of a property was ยฃ142,233 which represents a 4% year-on-year increase and a 2.1% increase on the previous month.

Commenting on these figures, Kenny Crawford, Director of Commercial Services for Registers of Scotland, commented, โ€œAverage prices continue to hold steady. January 2017 has continued the general upward trend seen in 2016 when every month, with the exception of March, showed an increase in average price when compared with the same month of the previous year.โ€™โ€™

Property Supply Outstripped by Buyer Demand

The imbalance between supply and demand in the Scottish housing market has continued into 2017, with the number of properties coming to the market lagging behind the number of sales.

Latest figures from ESPC show that, between December 2016 and February 2017, the number of new homes coming to the market decreased by 6.0% when compared with the same period in 2016.

The decrease in supply and continued high demand have driven selling times down even further, with selling times falling to 29 days in the period between December 2016 and February 2017 compared with 38 days in the same 3 month period a year ago, a decrease of 23.6%.

Across Scotland as a whole, the latest UK House Price Index (UK HPI) from Registers of Scotland (RoS) showed that, at the end of November 2016, the total volume of sales was 8594 representing a 3.18% increase on the previous month but a decrease of 3.18% when compared with the previous year.

In comparison, the decreases in sales volumes across the rest of the UK were more pronounced, with a drop of 21.2 % in England, 12.2 % in Wales and 17.6% in Northern Ireland in the same period.

These decreases in sales, when compared with the decrease in the number of properties coming to the market, are largely in line with the reduction in supply of properties coming to the market.

For property sellers, the current market conditions represent an excellent opportunity to get a great price in a very short time frame. With fierce competition amongst potential buyers, we are seeing our sellers achieving fantastic results.

Whilst it is a tough market for buyers just now, if you are nervous about putting your home on the market for fear of being unable to find your next home, you can take steps to reduce the impact of selling before buying by following the tips in our video here. ย 

Weโ€™re Here to Help

If you are selling your home or investment property in 2017, please do 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. Our expert Valuation Department can help you with suggestions to maximise the appeal of your home to buyers and get the best possible price if you areย selling. For more tips about preparing for a property valuation, you can also check out our YouTube video, Getting the Best Possible Property Valuation.

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