Scottish surge – large increase in same-day lettings across Edinburgh

The lettings arm of a leading Edinburgh-based property portal has reported a surge of Edinburgh properties being rented on the same day that they’re listed.

ESPC says this is a clear sign that the Scottish capital is experiencing a post-lockdown boom in popularity.

Properties across Edinburgh, which held a reduced festival season this year, have been in ‘exceptionally high demand’ since the start of the summer, according to ESPC. The portal said August had been exceptionally busy, as prospective renters scrambled to secure a home close to the city centre.

Nicky Lloyd, ESPC’s head of lettings, has seen examples in the last week alone of properties being rented within a day of them being listed for let. In one case, a deposit was put down on a two-bed property in the New Town just 90 minutes after it was listed.

Meanwhile, a one-bedroom flat in Haymarket went from listed to occupied in less than a week, as a tenant moved in just six days after the property was advertised for rent.

Elsewhere, in Gorgie, a densely populated area to the west of the city, a one-bed which had its price reduced at the height of the pandemic as it struggled to let, came back onto the market and let in just two days, back at its original rental rate.

Lloyd said the most popular property types with prospective tenants include one and two-bedroom furnished properties, while the areas in the highest demand include the city centre for students, Bruntsfield and New Town for young professionals, and Craiglockhart and Barnton for families looking for more outside space.

However, Lloyd claimed it’s not just students who are clamouring for accommodation as the new university term begins and in-person teaching returns. The demand for Edinburgh property has come from a wide variety of potential renters, all moving to the city for different reasons. This includes relocating with jobs, or to be closer to friends and families after a difficult year apart.

“We are seeing an exceptional rise in demand for privately rented properties across Edinburgh. We physically can’t keep properties on the market at the moment; the demand for homes in the city is unprecedented,” Lloyd added.

“It has been building gradually over the summer but since the start of September, we have seen a substantial increase in the number of enquiries, applications and renters vying for available homes. Properties are flying off the market and available stock is outstripped by the number of prospective tenants we have on the books.

“At the start of the second quarter of 2021, 17% of our property portfolio was vacant and on the market, and now it’s just 5%. Edinburgh is undoubtedly seeing a return to pre-pandemic popularity, but the pent-up demand from tenants is unparalleled.”