During a period of wider economic uncertainty, and throughout the typically quieter months of June-August, the property market remained stable overall, although some comparisons to the exceptionally active market of June-August 2025 have created some larger-than-expected gaps in the statistics.

The overall average selling price of properties throughout Edinburgh, the Lothians, Fife and the Borders rose by 2.1 per cent, to £299,586. East Lothian and Midlothian both saw healthy price growth of 3.8 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively, with the only area seeing a dip in average selling prices being West Fife & Kinross, although this appears to be due to higher volumes of buyers purchasing smaller, and therefore cheaper, properties, rather than an overall decline in property prices. This continues the pattern we saw in this region earlier in the summer and may hint at trends to come as we head into autumn.

Sales volumes were down, with a six per cent decrease on June-August 2025; however, this was an untypically busy period for the market and thus this year’s figures may be skewed somewhat by that, although external market conditions are also likely a contributing factor.

Two-bedroom flats in Leith remained the top-selling property type, although sales volumes were almost 11 per cent down on the same time last year.

Contrasting with this, the volume of properties coming onto the market stayed largely the same as last year, with a very modest 0.2 percentage points decrease. This suggests continuing seller confidence, which also aligns with a jump of over 11 per cent in the number of properties marketed using the ‘offers over’ pricing method, indicating that sellers feel very confident in the market for their property.

Edinburgh performed strongly overall, with robust price growth throughout the city, and especially in the city centre and Edinburgh West, where average selling prices rose 6.6 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively. Buyers typically paid one of the highest premiums for homes in Edinburgh, averaging 102.6 per cent of the Home Report valuation, and drilling into the districts, 103.3 per cent for homes in Edinburgh East (105 per cent in Leith), and 103.2 per cent for properties in Edinburgh South West.

Across the market, buyers largely continued to act swiftly and decisively, with modest changes to median selling times. Overall, properties went under offer in 21 days, which is the same as during June-August 2025, but in some areas there were big shifts: homes in Edinburgh city centre sold five days quicker year-on-year, and properties in West Lothian went under offer seven days faster than June-August last year.

Paul Hilton, CEO of ESPC, said: “The overall picture of the property market during the summer months is one of stability. There are dips that we would expect to see in these traditionally quieter months, and ones that may be more due to such an active summer in 2025 that this year naturally looks lower by comparison. There is also the wider context of the current financial market, which may be another reason why sales have cooled slightly.

“However, sellers are clearly confident and ready to proceed with their property journeys, and the buyers that are in the market are acting with assurance and clarity, paying healthy premiums and making successful offers promptly.”