Over the past three months, the average property selling price in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was £250,603, a 5.2% increase compared to the previous year. In Edinburgh, the average selling price rose by 4.4% to £267,286.

Properties in the north of the city saw the greatest growth in average selling prices, rising by 9.8% to £299,102.

Within the capital, three-bedroom houses in Blackhall, Davidsons Mains and Silverknowes saw the largest increase in average property price compared to other property types, rising by 52.2% to £475,461. While this increase appears very significant, it is due to the fact that some of the properties sold were of a much higher value, resulting in the average price being pushed up.

Properties in West Lothian saw a large year-on-year increase in average selling price over the last three months, rising by 18.2% to £219,597, while the average selling price of properties in East Lothian rose by 16.6% to £256,073.

In the Borders, the average property selling price was £217,282, a 6.1% increase compared to the previous year, while properties in  Midlothian saw a 4.5% increase, rising to £217,813. In West Fife & Kinross, the average property selling price rose by 1.6% but in Dunfermline it decreased by 1.5%. In East Fife, the average property selling price dipped by 0.3% compared to the previous year.

From December 2019 to February 2020, the property sales volume in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and Borders decreased by 4.7% compared to the previous year. However, the volume of homes coming to market increased by 3.6%. In Edinburgh, the property sales volume decreased by 7.5% while the number of homes coming to market increased by 0.4%.

In some areas outwith the capital, there was a significant increase in homes coming to market. In East Lothian, the number of properties coming to market rose by 12.4% year-on-year while in West Fife and Kinross, the number of new property listings rose by 26.3% year-on-year.

It is perhaps unsurprising therefore that three bedroom houses in Dunfermline achieved the highest sales volume of any property type in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders in this timeframe. This was followed by two-bedroom and one-bedroom flats in Leith.

Across all areas over the last three months, the median time for a property to go under offer was 26 days which was one day faster than last year. In Edinburgh, this figure was 23 days, one day faster than last year.

Properties in the Borders saw a significant decrease in selling time, with the median time for a property to be placed under offer at 43 days, a decrease of 27 days compared to the previous year.

Three-bedroom houses in South Queensferry and Dalmeny boasted the shortest selling time of any property type at 14 days, which was 39 days faster than last year.

Between December 2019 and February 2020, the average percentage of Home Report valuation attained in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders was 102.1% compared to 102.4% last year. In Edinburgh, the average percentage attained was 103.4% compared to 103.7% last year.

Two-bedroom flats in Portobello and Joppa achieved the highest percentage of Home Report valuation on average, at 110.3% compared to 108.6% the previous year.

Jamie Fraser-Davidson, business analyst at ESPC, said: “Over the past three months, properties in Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders saw a five per cent increase in average property selling price compared to the previous year. This is the most significant year-on-year increase in selling prices since the summer months of 2019.

“This suggests that demand for property is strong in these areas. At the same time, the number of homes coming to market increased slightly year-on-year, suggesting increasing confidence amongst sellers

“There has been a particularly notable increase in homes coming to market in West Fife & Kinross, which is good news for buyers in that area.”