The stock of property for sale increased by 47% annually in Edinburgh, 43% in Inverness and 41% in Dundee, signalling that supply is becoming less of a problem for potential buyers in Scotland.
This is the highest number of properties for sale in Edinburgh since July 2015 when 2.419 homes were for sale compared to 2,368 in October 2023.
There were small increases meanwhile in Glasgow, at 12%, and Perth, at 6%, as well as a reduction of 3% in Aberdeen.
David Alexander, chief executive of DJ Alexander, said: “With interest rates increasing 14 times since December 2021 you might expect there to be a decline in activity in the property market.
“Given that prices in the Scottish housing market have remained quite robust over the last year or so for volumes to be rising to such a degree is surprising.
“Of course, this could be a sign of a slowing market with more properties sticking or it could be distressed sellers desperate to sell as affordability issues arise from growing mortgage costs.”
The greatest increase in the central belt is in the number of detached and semi-detached homes for sale.
In Edinburgh, the number of detached and semi-detached homes advertised for sale were 114% and 61% higher and in Glasgow they were up 26% and 16% respectively.
The picture across Scotland’s other cities was more evenly spread across different property types although Dundee had an increase of 80% and 59% respectively in the number of detached and semi-detached homes for sale.
