Edinburgh property market ‘best since 2008 crash’

Sales are on the up across the Capital, with many areas close to their peak. Picture: Julie Bull

The number of housing sales in the city has tripled compared with the same period in 2009 – with desirable areas such as Bruntsfield and Stockbridge experiencing mini housing booms.

And the amount of property transactions in the Capital has risen by 30 per cent since this time last year – racing ahead of the Scottish average of 22 per cent.

Property companies across the Capital have hailed the growth as the “healthiest” the market had been for years.

John Boyle, director of research at property manager Rettie & Co, said: “The recovery was initially really particular to climate and seasonal changes – it bobbed along with a pretty modest rate of recovery.

“But from the middle of 2013 we have seen a marked increase in transactions.

“It’s not reaching anything like what we had at market peak, but we are getting back to a more normal market level and best conditions – though we are not quite there yet.”

David Marshall, business development manager at property company ESPC, said the volume of property sales this year was 50 per cent higher than in 2009.

He added: “It’s certainly fair to say Edinburgh is outperforming other areas of Scotland, but the market is strong across the board and what we have seen in Edinburgh will start to spread out to the surrounding areas.

“What we are seeing is a rise in activity and that certainly is a positive thing, but what we want to avoid is a situation where demand rises but the number of properties coming on the market doesn’t.

“But just now it is as healthy as we have seen the market for a number of years.”

And the Capital’s most expensive postcodes have seen a particularly robust rate of recovery.

Property experts said the total value of residential sales in affluent Ravelston had even returned to their pre-crash market peak. Mr Marshall said: “We saw prices pick up quite a lot in Marchmont and Bruntsfield, and places like Stockbridge and Comely Bank have probably seen demand pick up a little bit quicker.

“But it’s been across the board that there has been a rise in activity.”

He added: “The Edinburgh economy has probably outperformed expectations in the last 18 months.”

The global financial crash saw the total value of residential sales in Edinburgh plummet from a high of more than £1 billion to around £200 million.

But with markets improving and the economy on the path to recovery this total has now risen to £669m – around 60 per cent of it’s pre-crash peak.

The path to recovery

Total value of residential sales in Edinburgh, demonstrating that the market is bouncing back:

Quarter 3, 2007 (pre-crash market peak): £1.1 billion

Quarter 1, 2009 (depths of the crash): £217 million

Quarter 2, 2014 (now): £669 million