While new prospective buyers increased by 28% in the first quarter this year, compared with the five-year average, the number of sales instructions were down 11%, according to Knight Frank
Property prices in Scotland were up 0.1% in the 12 months to March, although average prices are down by 0.7% in the first three months of 2021.
Knight Frank analysis showed that while new prospective buyers increased by 28% in the first quarter this year, compared with the five-year average, the number of sales instructions were down 11%.
In March, there were 21.4 new prospective buyers for each new sales instruction in Scotland.
The ratio, which shows strength of demand versus supply, has been jumping steadily since the start of this year and peaked at 21.9 in February.
Offers accepted in Scotland’s rural property market over the past few months have continued to convert into transactions, with exchanges in the first quarter rising 72% versus the five-year average.
Meanwhile, property prices in Edinburgh recorded their strongest first quarter performance in three years, with a rise of 2.2%.
The pursuit of more space by family buyers in the city pushed the rate of growth to 6.8% in the 12 months to March, compared with an annual growth rate of 5.8% at the end of 2020.
Offers accepted in Edinburgh were up 80% in the first three months of the year, versus the five-year average.
Transactional activity also remained high, with exchanges rising 51% over the same period, according to Knight Frank.
The prime suburban market, predominately Victorian-era homes outside the city centre, has continued to benefit from buyers’ appetite for more space and gardens.
Edinburgh also made it into the top 20 cities in Knight Frank’s Q1 Prime Global Cities Index – a ranking of those places with the highest rising rates of property price around the world.
