An Exceptional Market
The property market over the last three months has been nothing short of exceptional.
Following lockdown, we expected a backlog of sales resulting in a spike in activity but we could not have foreseen the sheer level each of sales each of our branches has secured:
West End
Approximately 220 sales in Q3 and an average selling time of just 12 days. The selling price has been 11.9% over Home Report value and our branch has seen around 25 viewings for every property sold.
Stirling
Agreed offers for in excess of 100 properties with many selling for 10-15% over Home Report value.
Clarkston
Along with 45 closing dates in Q3, this branch added 1.4m in value to the property market just by achieving clients’ sales prices above Home Report value.
Bothwell
Our Bothwell branch achieved 61 sales with the average percentage over home report being 7.17%. The local market has been extremely busy in terms of properties coming on for sale and selling within an average of two weeks of marketing.
Perth
During Q3 this branch listed 120 new homes for sale and sold 124. With a strong Perthshire property market large family homes are selling particularly well in the £350k- £500k price range. Viewing levels are well above average and the branch negotiated the majority of sales well in excess of the Home Report value.
Bearsden
During Q3 this branch achieved 84 sales, 53 closing dates and £28,126,293 in property sales value.
Edinburgh
Sales prices have never been as high and clients should expect to achieve on average 5% above home report valuation but in extreme cases this can be beyond 10% with one sale in July in excess of 20% beyond home report valuation.
As you can see from local branch summaries for the third quarter (July to September), demand has far outweighed supply. Each branch is regularly experiencing sales going to closing date with multiple offers.
Latest House Price Index
According to Rightmove, this has been a consistent picture across the rest of the UK. The latest House Price Index shows that new records have been set over the last three months with:
- A new national record for average property prices – up 1.1%
- Active buyers are 66% higher than a year ago
- Compared to September 2019, house prices are 5.5% higher across the UK but 8.7% in Scotland – and predicted to rise to a national average of 7% by December
- The highest number of sales ever agreed in a month – 70% higher than September 2019
- An average time of 31 days to sell a property in Scotland, 50 days across the UK – this is the largest jump since 2006
- Traffic to Rightmove traffic was up nearly 50% in September
- Sales agreed are 58% higher than September 201.
- Asking prices for homes are now nearly £17,000 higher than last year.
During the October months as the nights draw in, we would normally see the usual winter slowdown starting. However, the appetite to take advantage of low interest rates and the Stamp Duty (LBTT) holiday means that demand is still high especially for properties that are priced correctly. We expect this level of activity to continue for the rest of 2020.
The market has been strong across all branches and the market in Scotland continues to be strong across all property types but particularly 3 and 4 bedroom homes and houses which offer more outside space. As many take the plunge to move to the country our offices in commuter location.
Why is this happening?
We have seen a marked change in the lifestyle choices and habits of homeowners, with less importance on living close to work or major transport links. Instead, many people appear to be looking to move to a more rural or affordable location with decent broadband to enable them to work from home. During lockdown, the importance of space has never been more prevalent and with the pandemic not looking to go away any time soon, people want to future proof their homes by having access to a good amount of outside space by way of either gardens, parks or countryside. Working from home, home schooling experiences and spending more time indoors given that entertainment venues, pubs and restaurants are currently closed across the central belt has highlighted the importance of having enough space at home.
