Edinburgh is an extremely popular area for property buyers, due to its volume of job opportunities, cultural scenery, and close proximity to beautiful rural sights.
With the property market constantly changing, many prospective buyers are wondering whether it’s now or never to buy property in Edinburgh. If you’re currently wondering about this, you’ve come to the right place.
In this help guide, we’ll talk you through everything you need to know about the Edinburgh property market as a prospective buyer, from how many properties are entering the market and being sold over the past year, average house prices, the best time of year to buy and what we predict will happen in the future to property prices in Edinburgh.
How many properties have sold in Edinburgh in the past year?
Firstly, let’s look at how many properties have sold in Edinburgh in the past year.
In February alone, 849 properties sold in the Edinburgh area (subject to contract). Extrapolated over a 12-month period, this gives an average of 10,000 properties selling over the last year.
How many properties came into the market in Edinburgh in the past year?
Of the properties that sold over the last year, there will also be additional properties that entered the market but haven’t sold for one reason or another.
912 properties entered the market in February 2023, giving a rough figure of almost 11,000 properties entering the market in Edinburgh over the last 12 months.
This means that 93% of properties that entered the market in the last 12 months sold, giving a great indication that properties in Edinburgh get snapped up by buyers within the first year of being on the market.
What this means for Edinburgh house prices – for both buyers and sellers
These figures suggest that there is a high demand for properties in the Edinburgh area, which will naturally have an effect on already rising property prices.
What is the average cost of housing in Edinburgh?
The average cost of a house in Edinburgh over the last 12 months is £337,425, which is higher than the UK average of £288,000 but lower than that of a comparable city such as London where the average property price is £723,700.
House prices in Edinburgh have increased by 3% when compared with the previous 12 months, with most property sales being from flats.
Are Edinburgh house prices rising/falling?
From the figures above we can see that house prices in Edinburgh are on the rise, however, prices are yet to reach the 2007 peak of £436,730.
It’s believed that prices will continue to grow, depending on how mortgage rates change in the coming months – more on this later.
What is the best time of year to buy in Edinburgh?
Now that you know a bit more about the Edinburgh housing market in terms of prices and property sales, you may be wondering if there’s a good or bad time to buy property in Edinburgh.
According to the house price index, a 2.3% fall in average house prices is generally seen in August, so this may be a good time to put an offer in on an Edinburgh property. Why this dip in prices is seen isn’t altogether clear, however, it’s thought that it could be due to demand dropping due to the summer holidays, where people may be busy or spending time out of the house for example.
What does the future of the housing market look like in Edinburgh?
We briefly touched on the future of the housing market in Edinburgh earlier in this guide, so let’s go into this topic in some more detail.
It is predicted that detached family homes in Edinburgh will continue to rise in price. This is because these are in low supply across the city, however, there is still a high demand for this type of property.
However, mortgage rates have risen exponentially over the last 6 months and the cost of living crisis is still having an impact on the cost of utility bills and the price of food, which may impact the number of people that will be able to sell up and move over the next couple of years.
In summary, things are still looking positive in terms of house prices and demand in Edinburgh, however, this may be impacted in the future if mortgage rates and living costs remain high.
How We Buy Any Home Can Help
If you already own a property in Edinburgh and you’re looking to sell, We Buy Any Home can make this super easy for you.
As the UK’s number one property-buying company, we can help you to achieve a quick sale on your Edinburgh home, while still achieving a good sale price. We’re a cash buyer which enables us to cut out lengthy processes usually associated with banks and other mortgage lenders, resulting in a much quicker sale than the average.
So how does it work? All you need to do is to request a free cash offer for your property via our website, and we’ll take it from there. You’ll receive a call from a member of our team who will clarify all the details of your property, before providing you with a cash offer. If you’re happy to accept, we’ll appoint you with a solicitor and property surveyor at our expense, and you could receive your funds in just 7 days.
If this appeals to you, get a free cash offer via our website and we look forward to helping you with your Edinburgh property sale!