Prime hotspots

Edinburgh’s prime residential market expansion has continued, with the number of transactions at £400,000 and above reaching a record 1,909 over the last year, a 6% annual rise. Furthermore, there were 153 transactions at £1 million and above, exceeding the previous annual peak of 149 seen during the 12 months ending June 2008. Alongside transactional growth, prime values in the city increased by 4.4% and are now 4.8% above the peak of 2007/08.

Edinburgh’s inner suburbs have led recent prime market growth. This includes the Grange, Morningside and Merchiston area south of the city centre, where the number of prime transactions at £400,000 and above reached a record 435 over the last year, a robust 24% annual rise.

The Ravelston area was another star performer. Elsewhere, prime transactions grew slightly in Stockbridge and Inverleith but remained stable in the New Town, West End and Trinity areas.

Emerging locations

In addition to these key hotspots, prime activity is becoming more established in some of Edinburgh’s eastern neighbourhoods, such as Broughton, Hillside, Joppa, Portobello and Duddingston. These locations saw a 31% annual increase in prime transactions, pushing them over the 150 mark in the past 12 months.

An increase in new build supply supported a 36% rise in prime transactions in the southern suburbs of Blackford, Gilmerton, Newington and Liberton, and an even greater 51% increase in the Western suburbs of Balerno and Ratho, as new development continues to bring more affluent buyers to emerging prime markets.

Market outlook

The main challenge in Edinburgh is constrained supply of properties below £500,000. Demand is strongest in this section of the market as evident in the increasing number of buyers registering for properties below £500,000. In other parts of the prime market, appropriately priced stock will continue to attract the strongest demand, particularly for properties that are considered best in class.

The Lothians

Buyers priced out of Edinburgh continue to be attracted to the relatively attainable Lothians, where the overall number of transactions increased annually by 3% over the last year.

Much of this growth took place in East Lothian, where the number increased by 13% fuelled by a 37% increase in new build transactions, across numerous sites, from the coastal hotspot of Gullane to the commuter locations of Haddington, Tranent and Wallyford. Higher value new build activity in Gullane and an improved second hand market in the sought-after town of North Berwick contributed to a healthy 34% rise in prime transactions across this area.

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: Scotland Residential below.}