Property market held steady over the summer
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The property market across Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders held
steady during June-August 2026, according to property portal, ESPC.
During a period of wider economic uncertainty, and throughout the typically quieter
months of June-August, the property market remained stable overall. However, some
comparisons to the exceptionally active market of June-August 2025 have created
some larger-than-expected gaps in the statistics.
The overall average selling price of properties throughout Edinburgh, the Lothians,
Fife and the Borders rose by 2.1 per cent, to £299,586. East Lothian and Midlothian both
saw healthy price growth of 3.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively.
West Fife & Kinross was the only area seeing a dip in average selling prices, which appeared to be due to higher volumes of buyers purchasing smaller, and therefore cheaper, properties, rather than an overall decline in property prices. This continues the pattern seen in this region earlier in the summer and may hint at trends to come, according to the report.
Sales volumes were down, with a six per cent decrease on June-August 2025, but this was an untypically busy period for the market and therefore this year’s figures may be
skewed somewhat by that, although external market conditions are also likely a
contributing factor.
Two-bedroom flats in Leith remained the top-selling property type, although sales
volumes were almost 11 per cent down on the same time last year.
The volume of properties coming onto the market stayed largely the same as last year, with a modest 0.2 percentage points decrease. This suggests continuing seller confidence, which also aligns with a jump of over 11 per cent in the number of properties marketed using the ‘offers over’ pricing method, indicating that sellers feel very confident in the market for their property.
Edinburgh performed strongly overall, with robust price growth throughout the city,
and especially in the city centre and Edinburgh west, where average selling prices
rose 6.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively. Buyers typically paid one of the highest premiums for homes in Edinburgh, averaging 102.6 per cent of the home-report valuation.
Across the market, buyers largely continued to act swiftly and decisively, with modest
changes to median selling times. Overall, properties went under offer in 21 days,
which is the same as during June-August 2025, but in some areas there were big
shifts. Homes in Edinburgh city centre sold five days quicker year-on-year, and
properties in West Lothian went under offer seven days faster than June-August last
year.
Paul Hilton, chief executive of ESPC, said: “The overall picture of the property market during the summer months is one of stability. There are dips that we would expect to see in these traditionally quieter months, and ones that may be more due to such an active summer in 2025 that this year naturally looks lower by comparison.
“There is also the wider context of the current financial market, which may be another reason why sales have cooled slightly. However, sellers are clearly confident and ready to proceed with their property journeys, and the buyers that are in the market are acting with assurance and clarity, paying healthy premiums and making successful offers promptly.
“Property prices largely continue to rise across the regions, and it continues
to be the case that high-quality, attractively priced homes will drive strong levels of
interest despite a slightly uncertain financial backdrop.”
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