Renewed demand for prime Edinburgh property
Date : 02 July 2010
Key Points
• The number of prospective house buyers registering with leading Edinburgh estate agents Knight Frank has increased by over 120% during the past six months
• The value of prime Edinburgh property has increased on average by 0.7% so far this year
• Prime residential property worth under £1m rose almost 3% in value in the first half of 2010
• Properties in New Town and the West End have shown the strongest recovery this year
• Vendors’ pricing expectations must remain realistic to attract interest
Matthew Munro, head of Edinburgh city sales, Knight Frank, commented:
“It is very encouraging to be able to report that the market for Edinburgh’s best houses and flats has started to show some signs of recovery. Values are by no means recovering across the board and are still some way below the levels seen prior to the credit crunch, but some sectors of the market are undoubtedly in far better health than they were at the end of 2009.
“According to Knight Frank’s Prime Edinburgh Residential Index, average property prices increased by 0.3% in the second quarter of this year, taking total growth in 2010 to 0.7%. On an annual basis prices have risen by 0.3% showing just how tough the market has been recently.
“A strong increase in interest from prospective house purchasers, including many enquiries from overseas, combined with a more realistic approach to pricing by vendors, has helped inject some life into a market that was hit particularly hard by the banking crisis. In the first half of this year the number of buyers registering with us increased by 123% compared with the previous six months and we are now exceeding Home Report valuation prices by as much as 10% on a regular basis.
“The section of the market where we have seen most demand and price growth is for
properties under £1m. An increase of over 1.5% for the second quarter of the year takes total growth for 2010 to almost 3%, with properties in this price bracket now worth over 4% more than they were 12 months ago.
“Properties worth under £1m are in particular demand benefiting from high net worth buyers setting their sights a little lower. Those, for example, who would have been looking at detached villas and
substantial townhouses are instead now viewing equally high-quality, but smaller, terraced houses, villas and large flats, thus creating competition at closing dates.
“For example, a property in a prime location within the Morningside area of the city went to closing after only 10 days with six notes of interest and sold for substantially more than the £825,00 asking price.
“A penthouse in a new city-centre
development overlooking The Meadows recently fetched an exceptionally healthy £660 per sq ft through Knight Frank sourcing a buyer from the Channel Islands.
“We are also seeing something of an upturn in demand for
houses priced between £1.5m and £2m, with four detached villas having sold within the last five weeks in Grange, Morningside, Merchiston and Colinton for between £1.65m and £1.9m. A Georgian terraced townhouse in the New Town area recently went for 10% over its £2.2m Home Report valuation.
“As one of Edinburgh’s two true international property agents, Knight Frank is ideally placed to help potential clients take advantage of this marked improvement in sentiment. We can put properties in front of a huge range of potential buyers across the world. Due to the significant uplift in enquiries we have taken on an additional member of staff to ensure bothour buyers and sellers receive the best possible service.”
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<£1m
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£1m to £1.5m
|
£1.5m to £2m
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£2m+
|
|
3-month change
|
1.6%
|
-1.4%
|
1.4%
|
0.7%
|
|
6-month change
|
2.7%
|
0.8%
|
-1.7%
|
-3.9%
|
|
Annual change
|
4.2%
|
-1.1%
|
-5.9%
|
-0.7%
|
For further information, please contact:
Matthew Munro, head of Edinburgh City sales, Knight Frank,
Davina Bell, country residential press manager, Knight Frank,
+44 207 861 1033, +44
Knight Frank LLP is the leading independent global property consultancy. Headquartered in London, Knight Frank and its New York-based global partner, Newmark Knight Frank, operate from 207 offices, in 43 countries, across six continents. More than 6,770 professionals handle in excess of US$700 billion (almost £355 billion) of commercial, agricultural and residential real estate annually, advising clients ranging from individual owners and buyers to major developers, investors and corporate tenants. For further information about the company, please visit www.knightfrank.com