Housing ‘gold rush’ as prices up 17pc in year

SCOTLAND’S housing market is in the grip of a ‘gold rush’, with some properties selling for more than £200,000 over the asking price.

Registers of Scotland figures published yesterday show a 16.9 per cent rise in the average cost of a home in the 12 months to August, to £180,832, the biggest annual increase since records began.

But things were even more remarkable in the Scottish Borders, where the increase was almost 30 per cent.

Scotland is the UK country with the highest rate of growth, as England’s rise lagged way behind at 9.8 per cent.

The country has traditionally had lower house prices than south of the Border but it is thought a rebalancing is under way, with many owners selling up in England to buy cheaper homes in Scotland.

The property boom is also being fuelled by families’ determination to find bigger homes following the pandemic, the so-called ‘race for space’.

Estate agent Rettie confirmed it is now seeing the most popular, detached, houses selling for £100,000 over the home report valuation.

One six-bed property it marketed in Giffnock, Renfrewshire, recently sold for £225,000 above the asking price of £690,000.

George Lorimer, of Rettie’s St Andrews office, said: ‘Good flats in the centre of St Andrews are currently selling for record prices, sometimes going for 30 per cent to 40 per cent over the home report value.’

In the year to August, the market also saw a 184 per cent increase in the number of house sales, compared with a rise of only 5.3 per cent in England. This can be attributed to Scotland’s property market taking longer to emerge from the first lockdown last year.

Davina Raselli, Edinburghbased partner at Garrington Property Finders, said: ‘We’ve never seen the market this busy or this challenging before.’

Lindsay Darroch, a partner with solicitor Gilson Gray in Dundee, said: ‘It’s like a gold rush. I’ve recently had a sale where a property in the £200,000 bracket sold for 35 per cent above the home report.’

Average price increases were recorded in all of Scotland’s 32 local authority areas.

The largest rise was in Scottish Borders, where the average price increased by 29.4 per cent to £194,509. The smallest rise was in City of Aberdeen, with a 7.6 per cent increase to £150,035.

The most expensive place to buy a home was the City of Edinburgh, where the average price was £314,042.

The lowest-priced area was East Ayrshire, at £114,026.

‘Never seen the market this busy’