Sales of £1m homes soar af ter No vote

Wealthy buyers are back following referendum scare

SALES of million-pound homes have more than doubled in Scotland thanks to voters rejecting separation, estate agents say.

There were 111 sales in the first half of this year, compared to 43 from January to June 2014.

The rise is far greater than any other part of the UK – and many areas have seen a fall.

Estate agent Savills said the referendum had made wealthy English buyers nervous but they are now returning to the Scottish market in greater numbers. There has also been growing interest from Chinese buyers who are attracted by Scotland’s private schools, top universities and cheaper property prices than London, it added.

Peter Lyell, director at Savills Edinburgh Town, said: ‘We are beginning to see the return of the London buyer who had been cautious about relocating north of the Border in the referendum era.

‘This group of buyers are attracted by the quality of life on offer including job opportunities, excellent schools and a wide range of prime housing.

‘A million pounds can buy you a lot more for your money in Edinburgh, compared to London and other prime locations in the UK.’

Edinburgh has seen the highest increase in million-pound homes sales, with 42 more in the first half of 2015 than the same period last year.

However, there have also been increases in East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow and even Aberdeen, despite the crash in the oil price. Nitesh Patel, economist at Bank of Scotland, which collated the figures, said: ‘It’s no surprise that Edinburgh had the most million pound sales in Scotland.

‘However, four regions went from having no sales last year to three or four this year – East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.’

The figures should provide some relief for the Scottish Government, which has seen its replacement of stamp duty with the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) devastate the top end of the market.

LBTT imposes a higher rate of tax on anyone buying a

‘Buyers seem to be returning’

home for more than £333,000, with a huge increase at the £ 1million- plus end of the market.

But even though today’s figures show million-pound sales more than doubled in 2015, the vast majority were from before April, when LBTT was introduced.

Faisal Choudhry, associate director of Savills, said: ‘Since the introduction of LBTT, there have only been 20 sales in Scotland, which is 64 per cent lower than the same period last year.’

Alex Johnstone, Scottish Tory housing spokesman, said: ‘During the referendum campaign, a lot of house-buyers were put off f rom buying homes in Scotland. Now buyers i n the million- pound bracket seem to be returning, but there may be a dip again with all this talk of a second referendum from the SNP.

‘But this is brighter news for one sector of the housing market and further proof that a No vote was the right one for Scotland.’