Amidst the political and economic unrest, our property teams in Edinburgh, Dundee, Perth and Crieff sold a near-record of £174m-worth of homes in 2023.
2023 was our second successive year of sales totalling more than £170m.
The total is a significant success for the firm in the face of what can be described as a “long hangover” from former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s emergency budget of 2022 and the nervousness caused by rising interest rates and the cost of living.
Our property experts warn that politicians north and south of the border should be aware of the impact their decisions have on people and property.
Maurice Allan, our Managing Director of Residential Property said: “These figures are a significant success for us, especially given the turbulence we saw in the market during the first half of the year.
“The consequences of political decisions have a real impact on peoples’ lives and can be long-lasting. We saw that with the emergency budget and the long hangover which followed for the property sector. It took time for people to work out what the impact of all of that was on their finances - and many delayed making offers on properties as a result, practically shutting down the market.
“Yet, over the course of the rest of the year, the market has proven to be resilient. Supply has improved - and good houses continue to sell well. People have adapted to the financial circumstances and regained the confidence to get back into the market.
“We’re not seeing the huge offer prices over valuation that we were post-lockdown, but what we have essentially seen over the past 12 months is a market which has returned to pre-pandemic levels, which is not a bad place to be.”
The total number of property sales during the year was also broadly in line with the previous 12 months - with the average price of homes sold through the firm up in Edinburgh up by about 1.5% to £330,000.
And, looking forward, there are hopes of a more stable market during the next 12 months.
Maurice added: “While it’s always difficult to predict what might lie ahead, there are genuine signs of positivity.
“The conversations we are having signal a growing belief that interest rates have peaked. With things more stable, many of those who have been sitting on their hands because interest rates were going up and up are now starting to think seriously about doing something in 2024.”
Of the properties we sold during 2023, £106.3m were through our Edinburgh property team who operate mainly throughout the capital and the Lothians - with a further £67.9m through our Dundee property team, who deal with properties across the city, Angus and Perthshire.
We expanded during 2023 following our biggest merger to-date, with Miller Hendry, which brought its services in Perth, Dundee and Crieff into the operations.
Featured in The Herald on 4/10/2024