Edinburgh seaside flat prices soar by 38.8 per cent - ESPC

The headline statistic comes from the estate agent’s latest house price report covering the period from March to May 2016, and compares data with the same period last year.

The average selling price is now £206,055, with the increase driven by sales of well-presented, traditional flats on Argyle Crescent, Joppa Terrace, John Street and James Street.

ESPC said the attraction of the areas were that they are close to the beach and the promenade and offer a good quality of life with a pleasant, community feel, while also having good transport links to Edinburgh city centre.

ESPC said: “While average selling prices have been driven up by sales of properties in higher brackets, it’s worth noting that the median selling price (the value lying in the midpoint of the data) of two bedroom flats in Portobello and Joppa have seen a similar year-on-year increase of 38.9%, with a median selling price of £191,000.”

Across east central Scotland, the number of properties being sold and average selling prices are about the same as last year, with a small increase in the number of new properties coming to market, ESPC added.

The median time it takes to sell a property in east central Scotland is now 50 per cent faster when compared to the same period a year ago – from 45 days to 22 days.

ESPC’s business analyst Maria Botha-Lopez said: “Over the last three months we have seen a high increase in average selling prices for flats in Portobello and Joppa, an area that is close to the coast while also retaining good transport links to Edinburgh. In contrast with the demand seen recently in areas like Leith, there is less volume of properties for sale in these coastal suburbs which could contribute to their higher selling prices.

“The average selling price of all properties in Edinburgh has decreased by 2.2 per cent but areas that have a large number of one and two bedroom flats have shown the largest increases, which can be attributed to the rush to buy flats for buy-to-let, before the supplementary tax for second homes was introduced on 1st April, although its impact is beginning to tail off.

“Overall we are continuing to see a seller’s market with 66.6% of property sales achieving or exceeding their home report valuation. 83% of properties listed between March and May 2016 were marketed as Offers Over, compared with 68.8% in 2015, which is a higher percentage than in 2007, when the property market was at its peak.”

Key points of ESPC’s latest house price report: