A bungalow near Broughty Ferry sold for £100,000 more than its home report value as the property market reached a frenzy last year.
Estate agent RSB Lindsays said the highest amount paid over the asking price wasn’t one of the luxury properties it sold last year.
Instead it was a relatively modest bungalow, with a garage, valued at £230,000.
Its purchase price of £330,000 represents a 43% premium on its valuation.
Bidding wars for Tayside properties
The head of RSB Lindsay’s Dundee office Chris Todd said the sale, in an unnamed street, was an example of bidding wars over sought-after properties.
He said: “We know that across Tayside, demand for homes outstrips the number of properties on the market.
“That adds an edge to the local market.
“People are willing to bid competitively in excess of the asking prices to get the homes they want.
“So long as that remains the case – with lenders continuing to make money available – prices will continue to rise, albeit not at the rate we have seen over the past 18 months or so.”
Prices up by £10,000 in Dundee
From its sales data, RSB Lindsays found housebuyers in Dundee paid an average of £10,000 more for homes in the past year.
The average price of homes it sold was £180,000, up from £170,000 in 2020, a rise of just under 6%.
Lindsays said demand across the board remained strong – even when compared to the explosion in activity witnessed after the market reopened in the final months of 2020 following the easing of restrictions following the first Covid-19 lockdown.
Mr Todd said he expects the market to settle in 2022, predicting a 5% rise.
He added: “We are confident that it will be busy.
“We know there are buyers ready to move off the mark quickly after the festive break.”
Demand for homes outside city centre
RSB Lindsays said demand remains high for homes outside of the city centre.
People are continuing to make lifestyle changes influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic.
More people are now looking for homes with gardens, partly influenced by a move to home working.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show the cost of buying a home in Scotland rose by an average of £18,000 – 11.3% – in the year to October.
Across the country, the average first-time buyer is paying £145,000 for their starter home. That is a near 10% increase on the year.
A study from Bank of Scotland shows house prices in Dundee rose more than 11% in the past year.
The bank’s research found the average home in Dundee costs £191,407, an increase of more than £19,000 from 2020.
Properties in Perth have increased by 12% – or over £23,000 – from £191,300 in 2020 to £214,310.
A bidding war led to a Fife house selling for £600,000 over its asking price last year.
On the market for offers over £1.1 million, Old Bake House at Earlsferry sold for £1.7m.
