Has Leith’s regeneration lived up to all the hype? - David Alexander

This year marks the centenary of Edinburgh’s takeover of the Burgh of Leith, which Parliament pushed through in 1920 in spite of Leithers voting six to one against annexation in a local plebiscite.

Leith is by far Edinburghs most diverse district, a fact reflected in the housing stock, says Alexander. Picture: Laurence Winram

A century on it is still said that Leith is in, but not of, Edinburgh. Leith has also been described as a West of Scotland community transposed to the East. While suspicious of stereotypes, this no doubt apocryphal story may have a whiff of truth: two cousins – one from Edinburgh, the other from Leith – come into a financial windfall following the death of a grandparent.

The former invests the money in a stocks and shares ISA; the latter orders the latest widescreen TV from Currys-PC World before heading down to Barrhead Travel to book a five-star family holiday in Florida.

DJ Alexander was launched in Leith in 1982, when the port was on the cusp of a new era of residential growth which comprised both newbuild flats and warehouse conversions, the latter including Manhattan-style loft apartments, the first of their kind in Scotland. Almost 40 years later has all the hype about Leith materialised?

Further development has been rather piecemeal but this was largely down to ten years of property recession across most of the UK. Schemes that did go ahead have – with a few minor exceptions – been successful both for the original backers and for subsequent owner-occupiers (and investment landlords) who have seen prices, in percentage terms, rise with the rest of Edinburgh.

Some penthouses in Western Harbour now sell in excess of £1 million. Just west of Leith a new marina development is taking reservations from relatively affluent expat retirees. Recently, some flat-sellers in newer blocks have been adversely affected by issues relating to exterior cladding. But this is an administrative problem (the cladding itself adheres to current regulations) and, hopefully, will be resolved soon.

But it would be wrong to focus entirely on recent newbuild. Leith is by far Edinburgh’s most diverse district, a fact reflected in the housing stock. This ranges from solid, working-class tenements around the “Foot of the Walk” to large period properties (especially facing Leith Links) which would not be out of place in the New Town – but at significantly lower cost – and are popular with professional families.

The controversial tram extension to Leith and onward to Newhaven may encourage further residential development, but will it really make such a difference to values overall? I doubt the veracity of claims made for the trams, especially when the bus system is popular with the public and even a source of local pride. Indeed should trams lead to a diminution in the extensive range of bus services currently serving Leith, as seems likely, residents could end up less-connected to the rest of Edinburgh than they are today.

Worth of Polwarth

One of the tricks of being property-savvy is the ability to pinpoint locations that ride on the back of established “hip” areas. As such, a rising star of the Edinburgh market is the Polwarth district. Its location just a mile and a half from The Mound/Princes Street junction makes it a popular choice for city centre employees.

Of equal importance, however is the fact that Polwarth sits cheek by jowl with Bruntsfield, a prime area for affluent young professionals where flats commonly sell or let in days rather than weeks. While there is little to distinguish between the type and quality of stock in Polwarth and Bruntsfield, prices in the former are lower and, in investment terms, have the potential to provide a superior net return.

Back in the era of “flexible” property descriptions, some estate agents might have felt it necessary to market Polwarth as “West Bruntsfield”. Today, however, that would not be the case. Polwarth is doing nicely, thank you, under its own banner.

- David Alexander is MD of DJ Alexander