Should you sell or should you buy in this most interesting Edinburgh property market?
We have calculated that at least 920 Edinburgh house sellers have rented a home to break their house chain in the last 12 months, although at a cost as they face paying many thousands of pounds in rent.
There are a number of reasons behind this. One is because they cannot find another property to buy amidst a continuing shortage of new properties coming to the market. Although, there are others who have achieved such a high price for their home they have decided to cash in and are (hopefully for them) waiting for the Edinburgh property market drop.
But will it drop? (More on that later).
Those selling their home have seen the…
average Edinburgh home rise in value in thelast 12 months by £1,700.
Yet, if they have had to go into private renting, they have paid for that privilege in the rent they have had to pay.
The average cost of a six-month lease in Edinburgh is £7,449, meaning accidental tenants have pumped £6,853,113 into the rental market in the last 12 months.
The unevenness between the number of properties for sale and demand for them is at its widest since the early 2000’s. Whilst we have seen a slight improvement in the number of properties for sale, there are still…
9% less homes up for sale today in Edinburgh,compared to twelve months ago.
This recent shortage of Edinburgh property for sale is discouraging some hesitant homeowners from putting their property onto the housing market, anxious they will not be able to find their next home and will be left renting.
Yet some savvy Edinburgh homeowners are moving into a rented property as a way to navigate the shortage of properties to buy. If you have someone offering you top dollar for your home, whilst you will have the hassle of two moves, the increase in value of your home will more than offset the rent.
Additionally, when you come to buy your next home, you will be chain free and in pole position to buy your ‘forever home’, rather than being overlooked because you are sold ‘STC’ and burdened with a chain.
Yet this trend has made life tougher for long-term Edinburgh tenants.
On average there were normally 750 to 850 properties available to rent in Edinburgh on Rightmove at any one time (pre-pandemic), today there are only 435 available.
To give you an idea of how this has affected the Edinburgh rental market, with heightened demand and lower supply, demand for rental properties has grown to such an extent…
the average rent in Edinburgh has grown from £1,242 per month a year ago to £1,352 per month today.
Tenants are suffering from less choice and higher rents in the Edinburgh property rental market, with few indications it’s going to significantly ease on the run up to Christmas.
So, what is going to happen to the Edinburgh property market? Well, those of you that follow us know we regularly write about the Edinburgh property market in our blog. If you have a quick search through some of our recent posts, you will see we have discussed the future of the local property market in depth and you may find our thoughts useful and interesting.
In the meantime, please do share your thoughts on the matter in the comments.
