Here’s some quick highlights we’ve come across in the Edinburgh property market through the past few months.

Edinburgh shines as one of the best places in the UK to invest in Buy to Let

Once again, Edinburgh comes out at the top after research comparing UK cities. This time it’s specialist lender, Aldermore, whos Buy to Let city tracker places Edinburgh at an equal-2nd position in the UK charts of best places to invest in buy to let. The tracker uses 5 core indicators to rate each city; 1) average monthly rent per room, 2) short term yield for new buy-to-let purchase, 3) average property rise over the last 10 years, 4) the proportion of vacant properties in the city & 5) size of the private rental market. Edinburgh came out equal-2nd in the list of 25 UK cities, scoring 72 points, alongside Manchester and just 2 points behind Oxford, sitting proud at the top of the tracker.

 

Knight Frank have shared their thoughts on the next 5 years for the UK residential property market.

They forecast house price growth to slow in 2019 and to grow by 15% throughout the UK as a whole, a little lower at 13% in Scotland, albeit historically Edinburgh fares more positively than the rest of the Scottish property market. Knight Frank also expect a slight interest rate increase over the next 5 years, yet still remaining below 2% through till 2023 (interest rates this week were held at 0.75%).

 

Edinburgh tops the charts with 6.1% annual house price growt

The Telegraph have reviewed which UK cities will see the biggest house price rise in 2020. Zoopla report that buyer interest increased after the election result in December with a 26% increase in buyer demand compared to the same period a year ago. Edinburgh topped the charts with an average annual house price growth of 6.1%, showing the city’s incredible resilience through a time of uncertainty. Zoopla took into account factors including affordability and capacity for house price growth to predict which UK cities would see the strongest growth in 2020. Nottingham came out top and Edinburgh wasn’t far behind in 2nd spot after seeing the steepest rate of growth in the UK last year, bringing average prices up to £242,200 (selling on average in a 4.7 week period). Homes in Edinburgh cost an average of 6.53 times earnings, with the city held back slightly in the rankings due to there being less space for the city to expand compared to Nottingham.

 

Savills back up this confidence in Edinburgh’s property market…

and have reported that Edinburgh’s Prime residential property market outperformed all other regions of the UK in 2019 (not just Scotland). Savills highlight some key factors influencing demand including; Edinburgh’s airport terminal expansion, the city’s connectivity for those working and living internationally and The Edinburgh St James development (the first phase of retail is due to open in October this year). The Edinburgh City Centre Transformation draft strategy has also been released, outlining £314 million of investments throughout the city to further improve the quality of lives of those living in Edinburgh, which will further add to Edinburgh’s appeal. Edinburgh is nearing cities including Dubai and Madrid in terms of £/sq ft, but is more affordable than London, Hong Kong, New York and Tokyo; and with all the city improvements in the pipeline, Edinburgh can certainly punch well above its weight with other leading global cities.

Edinburgh is the best place to live for Millenials

Edinburgh Evening News have reported on some research from Comparethemarket.com that Edinburgh has come out in the top on a list of UK cities as the best place to live for our 18-35 year old generation. The research measured average rent, salary, mental wellbeing, mobile data-coverage, nightlight and youth population. Edinburgh is such a vibrant city with fantastic employment and enjoyment opportunities, it’s a creative and cultural hub. There is tonnes of green spaces and the standard of living is high. It’s no surprise that it’s such a desirable place to live (and live very well!). The other cities making it into the top 5 were Reading, Derby, Manchester and Bristol.