Edinburgh gains help Linsdays book record £174m worth of property sales despite 'housing market turbulence'

Firm says “consequences of political decisions” can have a real impact on peoples’ lives.

A three-bedroom end-terraced housing in Morningside, Edinburgh, which is currently being marketed by Lindsays. Picture: Garry Thomas Photography

Lindsays, the Edinburgh-based legal firm, said it had navigated “housing market turbulence” to secure property sales with a record total value of £174 million.

The bumper 2023 total means that the firm has achieved a second successive year of sales totalling in excess of £170m through its residential property teams based in Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth. It has been hailed a significant success for the business in the face of what it describes as a “long hangover” from former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s emergency mini-budget of 2022 and the resultant impact on interest rates and market confidence.

The total number of property sales during the year was also broadly in line with the previous 12 months - with the average price of homes sold through the firm in Edinburgh up by about 1.5 per cent to £330,000. Of the properties sold by Lindsays during 2023, £106.3m worth were through the firm’s Edinburgh-based team - who operate mainly throughout the capital and the Lothians - with a further £67.9m through the Dundee-based team, who deal with properties across the city, Angus and Perthshire.

Maurice Allan, managing director of the firm’s residential property team, said: “These figures are a significant success for us, especially given the turbulence we saw in the market during the first half of the year. The consequences of political decisions have a real impact on peoples’ lives and can be long-lasting. We saw that with the emergency budget and the long hangover which followed for the property sector. It took time for people to work out what the impact of all of that was on their finances - and many delayed making offers on properties as a result, practically shutting down the market.”

He added: “Yet, over the course of the rest of the year, the market has proven to be fairly resilient. Supply has improved - and good houses continue to sell well. People have adapted to the financial circumstances and regained the confidence to get back into the market. While it’s always difficult to predict what might lie ahead, there are genuine signs of positivity.”

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