House prices in Edinburgh are a popular topic of conversation for those looking to buy/sell a property in Edinburgh. Property prices have been increasing each year across most of Scotland, as well as the rest of the UK, but what are experts forecasting for house prices in Edinburgh over the course of 2023?
If you’re interested in how the Edinburgh property market will perform in 2023, you’ve come to the right place. Here at We Buy Any Home, we’ve been purchasing properties in Edinburgh for many years, with our team of experts holding a wealth of experience in this sector both across the UK and in Edinburgh more specifically. This enables us to provide you with the very latest information on the Edinburgh property market, as well as our forecast for the coming year.
Keep reading to see how house prices have fared so far this year, and what is forecast to occur over the next 6-9 months.
January/February 2023 Overview
Over the course of January and February 2023, we’ve continued to see house prices in Edinburgh increase when compared with figures from the same months of the previous year. We’ve seen a 5.6% increase in house prices comparing January 2022 with January 2023, and prices have also increased by 2.2% year on year in February 2022 vs. February 2023.
However, what is clear is that house prices are beginning to drop. For the duration of November 2022 – January 2023, house prices sit at an average of £284,614, whereas from December – February 2023, average property prices have decreased to £277,326.
While the price decrease isn’t hugely significant, this is still a drop of 2% in average property prices. 2% is a lot in the property industry. It’s likely that this decrease in house prices is because of a drop in sales volume of 19.7% over the course of December – February 2023, and with many properties in Edinburgh coming under a bidding war, it’s likely that with a smaller sales volume house prices will also have decreased too.
Properties are taking slightly longer to sell in February, with an average median selling time of 22 days vs. 19 days in January. However, this is still far quicker than the average selling time in other capital cities in the UK such as London, which has an average selling time of 54 days.
Houses likely sell more quickly in Edinburgh than in London due to an under-supply of properties in Edinburgh, resulting in higher demand for properties in this area and many property sales coming as a result of bidding wars between buyers.
Price growth – 22.1% Increase Since Pre-Pandemic Figures (March 2020)
When comparing data from December 2022 with that of pre-pandemic data of March 2020, property prices in Edinburgh have increased by a staggering 22.1%. This is, however, lower than the UK average, where we saw a huge 27.4% increase in property prices since March 2020.
While this may be concerning initially, it’s interesting that 10,206 households each year are moving within Edinburgh, a 31% increase on the 19-year average of 7,779 property moves within the area each year.
This suggests that the property market in Edinburgh is still very much buoyant, particularly when compared to pre-pandemic figures. It’s also thought by expert economists that a higher number of property transactions is a more accurate indicator of the economy in an area, suggesting that the housing economy in Edinburgh is going from strength to strength. While house prices can be an indicator of how an economy is faring, house prices will rise and fall for many reasons not all directly linked to the economy.
An increase of 22.1% in house prices since the pandemic is likely due to house prices dropping after the initial news of the pandemic, due to uncertainty and inability to view properties, and then pressures on the market causing house prices to increase when the property market fully re-opened.
There were also initiatives such as the Stamp Duty holiday for properties sold in the period 8th July 2020 – 30th June 2021. Initiatives such as these reinvigorated the property market, encouraging new demand for homes and ultimately leading to a rise in property prices.
Scotland as a Whole
Lastly, let’s take a look at the property market in Scotland as a whole and analyse how property prices are expected to change over the course of 2023.
It’s expected that there will be approximately 1 million house sales in the UK throughout the course of 2023, a figure that is likely to be lower than the number of house sales in 2022 (1.1 million).
However, while this figure is lower than last year, the property market is still expected to be buoyant and active – a reassuring thought for Scottish property buyers due to the recent inflation and interest increases.
In terms of house prices, the Scottish Fiscal Commission has predicted a decrease in house prices of at least 5%, largely due to buyer demand falling in light of increased interest rates and uncertainty around the economy in general.
There is still a huge demand for houses in Scotland, due to a rising population and under-supply of properties. However, average interest rates are still high at just under 5%, which may encourage people to hold off on moving until interest rates come back down. This may result in reduced demand for properties and could ultimately cause property prices to fall.
This is all speculative of course and is largely dependent on how the economy fares over the next year.
How We Buy Any Home Can Help
If you own a house in Edinburgh and are concerned about the current property market, reach out to We Buy Any Home. We specialise in achieving a quick sale, at the right price, ensuring that you can sell your property while property prices are still high.
We have many years of experience in the Edinburgh property market, giving us a wealth of data to draw upon to ensure that we get your property sold quickly and at the very best price. We don’t charge sellers any fees whatsoever for our services as we claim a fee from the property buyer, and we’ll even cover the costs of your property valuation and legal representation.
Get a free cash offer from We Buy Any Home today, and you could receive your property funds in as little as just 7 days!
