It’s that time again folks. Your quarterly property update from Edinburgh Self Storage – the capital’s best storage facility, particularly if you need safe, affordable personal storage during a house move to alleviate the stress of it all.
Let’s start with some good news.
Scottish cities are the best place in the UK to save for a deposit
Scottish cities are the best place in the UK to save for a deposit, it’s worth saying twice, and it’s according to a new study by Cala Homes.
Scottish locations made up the top 5 of a top 10 fastest to save up for a 10% deposit on a home, with Aberdeen in pole position.
They arrived at the figures by taking the median weekly pay and the median detached house price to determine how long it would take to save for.
Aberdeen has a wait of 2.5 years for the property ladder focussed. The median salary in Aberdeen is £621.30 a week, with the median detached house setting you back around £79,720.
Dundee is number two on the list, with 4.8 years to save up for a deposit and a median weekly salary of £566.00 and median detached house price of £141,260. Then it’s Edinburgh at 4.9 years, with a median weekly salary of £646.50 and a median detached house price of £163,920.
Stirling and Falkirk come in at numbers four and five – with median weekly salary at £618.10, median detached and house price at £161,650, with 5.0 years to save for Stirling, and a median weekly salary of £605.60, median detached house price of £162,340, and 5.2 years to save for your home in Falkirk.
Edinburgh and Glasgow new homes
And there’s more good property news from Edinburgh Self Storage this quarter, this time from property advisor JLL, Edinburgh that recorded the highest annual new build city centre house price growth, at 8.7%, out of the UK’s ‘big six’ regional cities – Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
And despite being against a backdrop where a lack of stock, plus high demand from young professionals and students is driving up values.
Glasgow likewise recorded a sizeable increase at 4.8%, only a fraction behind number two city, Manchester.
Contrary to other cities, Edinburgh witnessed the value of three-bedroom homes grow the most significantly, at 10% annually.
This was closely followed by two-bedroom homes at 9.7%, with one-bedrooms lagging at 4.8%, but is still well above the UK average.
It was a different story in Glasgow where one-bedroom flats reported a 6.7% increase.
The rental market in Edinburgh is also healthy, recording an 18% annual rise in values, well above the UK average of 13.9% and second only to Manchester, while rental values also amped up in Glasgow, by 12.7%; albeit the second lowest increase of the ‘big six.’
Mind the rent gap
Repots of a rent gap emerging between current tenancies and accommodation seekers despite a Scottish Government cap on rises have also reached us.
The last quarterly report from estate agency Citylets says the average cost of rent across the country at £1,081 over the period April to June 2023 – up 11.4% compared to the previous year, representing a 35.5% change over a five-year period.
The cost surpassed £1,000 for the first time in the first quarter of 2023 – an average of £1,007 per month per tenant.
Hence the rent gap between those who have already secured accommodation and are covered by the Scottish Government’s Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Act 2022 and those who are looking to secure a let property.
An initial rent freeze came in September 2022 that was extended until 31 March 2023, before being replaced by a cap disallowing private landlords from increasing the rent by more than 3% which will not expire until 30 September 2023.
Edinburgh and Glasgow recorded with the highest monthly increase, with rents priced at an average of £1,477 and £1,141 respectively.Rent averaged £891 in Dundee, £871 in West Lothian, £835 in Aberdeen, £768 in South Lanarkshire, and £745 in Renfrewshire.
Renfrewshire was the only area not to witness a double-digit change compared to the previous year, with a 7.4% increase in average rents from 2022.
Scottish prime residential market doing very well indeed
And finally, some news about Scotland’s prime residential market. Savills’ latest analysis shows its resiliency and that it is largely outperforming the rest of the country during the second quarter of the year.
This market takes in the most desirable properties and typically accounts for the top five to 10% in terms of value, and while prime sales have risen, new supply has outstripped demand in the last three months, with the number of available properties above £500,000 in Scotland reaching its highest level since 2016.
Sources:
insider.co.uk
dailyecho.co.uk
herald.co.uk
