The latest home report has revealed the new property hotspots in Edinburgh, and the most affordable property in the capital is still sitting at above £80,000.
The average selling price of property in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders experienced a 2.3 per cent rise during November 2021-January 2022.
This takes the new average selling price from £264,938 to £271,131, up £6,193 from the year before.
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Edinburgh’s average selling price rose 1.4 per cent, taking the new price to £286,147.
However, there were variations within the capital; the city centre saw prices decrease 5.1 per cent to £324,127, while the South Western suburbs experienced a 17.6 per cent increase, to £400,816.
There were some interesting trends in Edinburgh when property types were compared, presenting the varying levels of buyer demand.
Three-bedroom houses in Currie, Balerno and Juniper Green saw an annual rise of 19.9 per cent, with an average selling price of £391,080, while two-bedroom flats in Morningside and Merchiston also experienced a substantial leap, up 12.5 per cent year-on-year to £333,326.
One-bedroom flats in the flourishing Abbeyhill and Meadowbank areas also saw an increase in average selling prices, up 10.2 per cent to £178,374.
By contrast, two bedroom flats in the New Town and West End, and in Portobello and Joppa, saw their average selling prices decline. New Town and West End properties dropped 6.3 per cent to £414,259, while Portobello and Joppa flats declined 5.2 per cent to £267,207.
Overall, the most affordable property type was two-bedroom flats in Galashiels, with an average selling price of £82,553.
Homes in West Lothian saw the biggest increase, as a 37.6 per cent increase meant the new average selling price was £292,394, compared to £212,426 twelve months prior.
By contrast, the Borders had the biggest decline in average selling price, decreasing 12.3 per cent year-on-year to £218,796.
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However, as there was a larger volume of lower-priced properties coming to the market in the Borders during this period, this is likely to be the reason for the shift in prices.
Buyers in East Lothian and East Fife paid the most over Home Report valuation for homes; both of these areas saw an increase of 6.4 percentage points in comparison to November-January 2021/21.
On average, properties in East Fife attained 108.5 per cent of Home Report valuation, while East Lothian homes achieved 110.6 per cent.
Looking at Edinburgh, the biggest increase in and amount paid over Home Report valuation was for homes in the South West of the city, where buyers paid 108.5 per cent of valuation, 5.3 percentage points higher than the year before.
Three-bedroom houses did particularly well in the Capital; in Currie, Balerno and Juniper Green, buyers paid 113.6 per cent of HRV (9.2 percentage points up on last year), while three-beds in Cramond, Barnton and Cammo attained 113.9 per cent of valuation.
Conversely, demand for two-bedroom flats in the New Town and West End waned, with a 2.1 percentage points decrease meaning buyers paid 100.8 per cent of Home Report valuation on average.
Despite November-January typically being a calmer time for the property market, homes across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders sold two days quicker than they did during the same time in the previous year, with a median selling time of 17 days.
Edinburgh saw its median selling time rise by one day to 20 days, and all areas of Edinburgh, except one, reported a slower selling time.
The South West of the city was the only exception, with homes here selling seven days quicker than November-January 2020/21, at 13 days.
The fastest-selling property type overall was three-bedroom houses in the Midlothian town of Gorebridge, where median selling times dropped by 10 days to just seven days.
Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “The three months of November-January are typically a slower period for the property market, but the market across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders has remained buoyant on the whole.
"It’s been a quieter time as we would expect, but there have been positive signs of growth in comparison to the year before, when the market was affected by lockdowns and heightened competition.
“The market has seen lower sales volumes overall, and modest price increases on the whole, but we’ve seen a clear separation in the level of demand for family homes in the suburbs versus city-centre properties, with homes in Edinburgh’s South West and West Lothian becoming particularly sought-after.
“There’s promising signs of more first-time buyers stepping onto the market, with a rise in demand for flats in the likes of Abbeyhill, Meadowbank and Leith, where properties are traditionally more affordable but offer a vibrant, exciting place to call home.
“Overall, Edinburgh’s market has seen signs of slowing down over this period, but out-of-town areas across the Lothians, Fife and the Borders have remained popular even during the typically quieter months."
