Land tax impact

The latest house price figures from Your Move/Acadata suggest that there’s been a significant increase in selling prices across the board, despite the dip in activity due to the introduction of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT).

ESPC recorded a similar rise in property prices in Edinburgh during May which these figures are relating to, however it would appear the current market has changed somewhat, suggesting that the true impact of LBTT hasn’t yet been felt.

ESPC’s latest house price report to the end of June reveals that for East Central Scotland, average prices have actually dipped 0.5 per cent – the first recorded decrease in average selling price for this region since December 2012.

From our analysis, this could possibly be attributed to the surge in higher-priced properties being brought to market at the start of the year, in anticipation of the introduction of LBTT.

We are now seeing less properties over £300,000 now being sold, therefore driving down average prices. Despite this, there are still some areas which have increased this month, for example Dunfermline, where prices between April and June this year have risen 12.6 per cent.

Overall, when comparing the property prices for the first six months of 2015 with the first six months of 2014 for East Central Scotland, we are reporting an increase of 9 per cent, painting the picture that while conditions are still more favourable to the seller, it remains a promising time to engage in the market and it will be interesting to see how any fluctuations due to LBTT are balanced in the coming months.

Paul Hilton

ESPC

Edinburgh