Warners home and dry as sales break £200m barrier for a year

Published on Tuesday 12 February 2008 09:36

WARNERS, the property solicitor group, has become the first company in the Capital to break through the £200 million-a-year homes sales barrier.

The figure makes the group, which has four outlets across Edinburgh and the Lothians, the top-selling firm among the Edinburgh Solicitors' Property Centre (ESPC) umbrella for the ninth successive year.

Over 2007, the group claimed that, as well as record sales value it also achieved record listings, keeping it ahead of its 232 ESPC rivals.

The increased sales figure for the firm is also in contrast with a decline of 1000 in the number of total sales sold by ESPC members last year to 10,500, totalling 2.2 billion.

Scott Brown, Warners' estate agency partner, claimed the figures went a long way to putting a lid on claims that the property market across Edinburgh and the Lothians had turned down during the year as the wider credit crunch that began with the US sub-prime mortgage crisis took hold.

"To achieve these kinds of figures proves categorically that there is still plenty of confidence in the property market," said Mr Brown.

Over the year, Warners – which has held the top residential property seller slot since 1998 – sold 1072 properties.

That helped push the total value of homes sold over the year to 207m, up from 190m over 2006 and 158m the year before that, and marking the first time a single firm has burst through the 200m barrier.

Warners, which was established in 1977 and is also a member of the Edinburgh and Lothian Property Group (ELPG), also recorded a near-13 per cent rise in the number of properties it listed for sale – up to 1254, while seeing its average sale price jump by 11.5 per cent. Mr Brown said: "Being the number one firm again is a great achievement, but we know remaining the market leader is our biggest challenge."

Commenting on the market last year, which many observers predicted would crash at worst and slow down dramatically at best, Mr Brown said: "We achieved record statistics in both the number of properties listed for sale and bought, which shows that there is still considerable seller and buyer interest, regardless of what is happening elsewhere in the UK.

"We have always said that Edinburgh is a distinct market – that and the fact that people will always move home because of factors such as a new baby or a job move – and these figures prove that trend conclusively."

Looking ahead, Warners predicted that activity in the Capital housing market would remain buoyant, with the rise in house price easing to more realistic levels, which should bring more buyers back into the market as properties become more affordable.

"Early indications based on business to date in January – where both our sales and listings have been stronger than expected – would appear to back up our belief that the market will perform well again in 2008," said Mr Brown.