Talk to me about the Edinburgh (or Scottish in general) housing market

[HeyChiefICouldBeWrong]

My DH is looking at taking a great job based in Edinburgh. We don’t know the city well, but like what we know. We’d have a 1yo son when we moved. I’ve done loads of research into property up in Edinburgh, but I’m starting to feel like I’m missing something!

We’d be moving from a pretty nice city in the SW of England and have around £500k spend on a 3 bed with garden (for dog and DS). Not a huge amount by some standards, but I’m surprised to find almost nothing available. Not just nothing that we like the looks of, just hardly any houses on the market at all! Is this normal for Edinburgh or is the market really slow because of Covid? Or is there a secret website I should know about?

Any other “is Edinburgh a good place to move to” opinions also welcome!

Housing market in Edinburgh is very competitive. Especially in the more affluent areas. Try the espc website for listings and the schooling catchments is a different process to England. This affects the prices. And also prices are usually offers over so can go quite steep sometimes!

House prices in the city are extortionate but if you are willing to commute look south of the city on or near the route of the Borders railway and you could half your budget or bag something bigger than a 3 bed if you are willing to commute.

Where are you looking?
In Scotland it's more solicitors than estate agents that sell houses.
The market has picked up recently and lots of places are coming on the market.

There's over 900 Edinburgh properties for sale on ESPC website and some more in Midlothian and East Lothian.
espc.com

Also check out Rettie , rightmove and purple bricks but they never have as many for sale as solicitors

espc.com/property-for-sale/edinburgh

espc.com/property-for-sale/east-lothian

espc.com/property-for-sale/midlothian

espc.com/property-for-sale/fife-and-kinross

Check out Lothian Transport website for where buses run
Fife means a Commute over the Forth

You might be best to ask in the Scotsnet topic? Depending where in the city your spouse is working they'll be able to suggest areas to look at and how much over the price you need to go.

To put it into context my pal spent £60K over offer to secure her house a few years ago. So if your budget is 500k you might be looking at houses that are offers over £450k. But remember the mortgage company will only give you what the house is valued at, so you'll need to pay cash for the "offers over" bit. And any tax (which has just changed so god knows what it's at) .

While I can’t comment on the Edinburgh property market, buying & selling property is very different from doing so in England, the whole process moves much faster, we have offers over etc. I’m an estate agent in Scotland, feel free to DM me if you have any questions.

Most things are on espc or onthemarket.com although a few are only on a specific solicitors. There are plenty of new builds (see Cala etc).

Is it a permanent move? LBTT (stamp duty) and income tax are not the same as England - if I was going to end up moving in the next 5 years id consider renting in case prices fluctuate in the short term. I’ve bought before though and lost money due to having to sell quickly so a bit risk averse.

Unfortunately, £500k won’t get you much of a house in a decent area of Edinburgh.

Solicitors, not estate agents sell the most property here. As others have suggested, start with ESPC.

@cocopops you've got to be kidding! That's a massive budget for a 3bed with garden. You can have you're pick of some decent areas with that.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/houses/edinburgh-county/?beds_min=3&price_max=500000&q=Edinburgh&results_sort=newest_listings&search_source=home

It’s a great budget - if you want to live in the city centre you’ll be looking at basement flats but of course you will be able to get something - I’m wondering where you’ve been looking as I’ve seen quite a few things up and hear the market is promising at the moment.

Another vote for espc. Each area has their own spc site and I've found most places will advertise on there, but not always right move or zoopla. Edinburgh as a city can be expensive, but going a bit further afield will get you way more for your money. How far would you be willing to commute? Edinburgh has a good train/tram system, and plenty of park and ride options outside of the city.

Thanks everyone! I’ve definitely focused on Rightmove and espc. I’ve not seen anything in the areas that we’ve been advised are “good”, but I’m sure that there are other areas. Any pointers on location would be really welcome?

We currently live in a city choc full of period properties (mostly Victorian terraces and Georgian townhouses). It’s all very safe and comfortable. I’d really love to find an idea with a similar feel - my DH especially is not that on for anything “gritty”! Good schools, green spaces etc.

Happy to look outside of the city but ideally wouldn’t want more than a 30min commute by train. The job is right in the centre so driving feels unlikely.

The way of buying houses seems to different that we were wondering about renting at first to see if that makes buying a little less painful.

Edinburgh is fab.

There's quite a bit on the ESPC website. A particularly nice one on Gilmerton Road for offers over £485k that I'd very happily live in!

Apologies OP if you already know this but some of the nicest houses in Edinburgh are terraced. Lovely big rooms and high ceilings. A bit like Bath really. When we moved from Edinburgh to an industrial city in England we were surprised at the estate agents' assumption that detached was preferable - we'd never considered it was an issue.

If you want a semi or detached for your budget you probably need to be looking for a more modern house.

And again apologies if you already know this but you can get lovely big flats or upper/lower villas with generous sized rooms and shared gardens nearer the centre. There's a nice one on Marchmont Crescent for offers over £495k.

For a house of £500k you would probably be a bit out of the centre of the city where you get more for your money. I love walking around Edinburgh so for me being nearer the centre would be preferable.

Lots of priorities to weigh up. Best of luck

@highlandcoo Thanks so much. A terraced period house would be perfect for us! I’d be more than happy with a big ground floor apartment but assumed that the shared garden would be a no go with the dog?

Renting is a good idea. It gives you a chance to have a wander round and get a feel for different areas. Plus you would have already sold in England and be cash buyers which is always good.

Having bought houses in both countries I prefer the Scottish system as there's less messing about. In my day once an offer was made and accepted that was it and nobody could back out. I'm not sure if that's set in stone to quite the same extent nowadays but I believe it's still pretty much like that .. unless other posters have more up-to-date information? You're dealing with solicitors rather than estate agents which I preferred.

Ah, not sure about the dog issue OP. Some main door flats (on the ground floor) have their own private garden but it would typically be quite small.

I’m also currently buying in Edinburgh having already sold ours. I’ve bought and sold 3 times in Edinburgh.

Honestly the market is is lightening fast. Places sell in under a month. A week isn’t unusual in my price bracket 300-350k so I think it looks like nothing is really on the market.

That being said there is less on the market at the moment, and it’s taking a minute to get back into the swing of it.

From what I've heard is that a lot of Edinburgh accommodation is flat blocks both new and traditional and some lovely accommodation. But to get a house with a nice garden isn't as easy as in some places. If you don't want to pay the earth places like Blackhall and Corstorphine are worth looking at. Trinity and Leith too you might get more for your money in a more traditional type house. I agree with renting first to see if you like the area before buying.

you want fife for a decent house in your price range

My brother lives here and works in the city centre. Your budget can go a long way!!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-89526863.html

My husband and I both work in Edinburgh but we live in Stirling. It's an easy commute by train and for that budget you can get a 4 bedroom Victorian semi-detached with a garden.

@Delbelleber I suppose it depends on what you think a decent area is? 500k wouldn’t get you a terraced house with garden in Murrayfield, Blackhall or Morningside.

Linlithgow is a lovely historic town on the train line to Edinburgh.

You basically don't get houses in rough areas worth 500k so any area with a 3bed in that budget is going to be decent.