Property Market Update August 2017

Prices Across Scotland and the UK Rising

The latest figures released by Registers of Scotland indicate that the average price of a property in Scotland in June 2017 was £144,253, representing an increase of 2.9% on June 2016. Commenting on this increase, Registers of Scotland’s Business Development and Information Director, Kenny Crawford, said:

“Average prices in June continued their upward trend when compared with June 2016. There have been increases in every month since March 2016 when compared with the same month of the previous year.”

This trend in house prices is reflected by the August House Price Index released by UK lender, Nationwide, who reported that property prices across the UK as a whole increased by 3.1% in June, up from 2.1% in May 2017.

East Central Scotland Property Market Shows Resilience While West Coast and Central Scotland Property Markets Show Growth

Continuing the trends that have been seen in recent months, the ESPC recently released data showing that the average selling price of a property in east central Scotland increased by 3.3% between May and July 2017, from £214,551 to £221,552, when compared with the same period the year before.

The particularly buoyant market in east central Scotland, fuelled by a lack of properties coming to the market to meet buyer demand, continues to outperform the rest of Scotland and the past month has been no exception to this. Research released by the Bank of Scotland in August shows that Edinburgh is Scotland’s ‘most expensive city’ with residential property valued at an average price of £2,492 per square meter compared to the Scottish average of £1,529.

Elsewhere in Scotland, Wishaw in North Lanarkshire represents great value for those looking to purchase a property. The average price per square meter is just £1,027. In Fife, Dunfermline has recorded the largest price increase since 2012, on a per square metre basis, rising from £1,185 per square meter in 2012 to £1,416 in 2017. This is closely followed by Dalkeith at 19%, then Motherwell, Glasgow and Alloa at 18%.

Commenting on this report, Graham Blair, Mortgages Director at the Bank of Scotland said, “House price per square metre can be a useful measure for house price comparison as it helps to adjust for differences in the size and type of properties between locations. Edinburgh and the east coast are more expensive than western and central areas, however we can see a number of notable pockets emerging in the Highlands.”

East Central Scotland Seller’s Market Continues

The ESPC reported that the number of new homes coming to the market in east central Scotland between May and July 2017 fell by 6.7% when compared to the same period the year before. This has had a predictable effect on the number of sales in the same period, with sales decreasing by 4.6%. With sales continuing to outstrip the number of properties coming to the market, selling times continue to drop. We have seen this ourselves in the past few weeks, with the average selling time at MOV8 standing at just 15 days in the period from May to July 2017. This is 26.8% faster than the same period in 2016.

Commenting on the current market conditions, MOV8’s Founder, Robert Carroll, said:

“High demand and low supply to the market, of course, has the effect of increasing selling prices whilst decreasing selling times. It is not uncommon in the current market conditions for a property to sell within just a few days of coming to the market after the seller has received multiple offers. It seems that whilst buyers are quite bullish about the current market, sellers are a little more cautious. The lack of availability of homes to buy is also contributing to sellers not wanting to put their own property on the market until they have first found one to buy.”

For helpful tips about how to minimise the risks of getting your own property on the market if you haven’t yet found a home to buy, see our YouTube video.

We’re Here to Help

If you are thinking of 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.

You can also now instantly book a free valuation appointment, online, by following this link.

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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