Edinburgh house hunters causing property price surge in East Lothian

Home hunters are heading for East Lothian. Picture Ian Rutherford

Properties in the likes of Dunbar, Haddington and North Berwick have seen values surge by more than £25,000 in the last six months as city residents are pushed east to find value for money – research by Aberdein Considine found.

The Scotland’s Property Monitor Report said the average cost for a home in the coastal region rose by 10.7 per cent to more than £260,000 since the start of the year, while the growing number of high-cost homes contributed to the total value of properties sold reaching its highest level since 2008.

Experts said the uptake in property in the region was driven by an increasingly competitive market in the Capital.

They added the appeal of owning a home with garden space while also being within a short drive of the city centre had contributed to the rocketing prices.

In May, a Warners Solicitors & Estate Agent report stated activity among both buyers and sellers in the Capital was at record levels and showing few signs of slowing down despite Brexit. Between January and March, the firm said it recorded over 250 property sales and brought almost 300 properties to the market.

Sean MacMillan, a property partner at Aberdein Considine’s Edinburgh branch, said: “With no let-up in an ever-hotter market in Edinburgh, the growth of new developments, especially in the larger family homes bracket, is increasingly drawing buyers towards East  Lothian.”

“At the moment the region is offering more bang for your buck, more choice and a high quality of life, and rising demand is pushing up prices to those almost comparable with the Capital.”

The average price for a home in Edinburgh was placed at £264,943, while in East Lothian, the typical property is valued at £260,399.

According to the report, 567 properties were sold in the region between April and June.

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