The rural property market with Austin Halliday of Halliday Homes

IN the business of helping people buy and sell predominantly rural and semirural homes throughout the Central Belt of Scotland, we have seen a huge rise in the number of people chasing the bucolic dream.

In fact, one of the most dramatic legacies of Covid is its impact on Scotland’s ruralisation. Enquiry levels shot up immediately after the first lockdown ended in 2020 when the ability to work from home gave city dwellers the option to extend their location search and swap the urban jungle for a rural idyll.

Not only does country living live up to expectations in terms of open space, gardens, less pollution, greater privacy, and a connection with nature that is difficult to find in a city, the financial implications are also very persuasive: being able to spend less and have a bigger home as well as a more relaxed lifestyle, enjoy a stronger sense of community, enhanced wellbeing, and space for animals and pets. Given the opportunity, most parents would choose to raise children in a country environment.

Best of all, you don’t have to travel far to secure an accessibly rural idyll: the Central Belt of Scotland is full of picturesque villages, agricultural conversions, niche developments, plots for self-builders, and one-off country houses both with and without additional land.

And with superfast broadband available throughout most of the region, working from home is on a par with the city – except the view from your home office window is better. The upsurge in demand for properties up to £600,000 – from young professionals up to retirees – has reduced average selling times to around seven days or less.

However, buyers for higher value homes are currently frustrated by low supply, which makes it a prime opportunity for those contemplating putting their home on the market to take advantage of the lack of competition.

„„Austin Halliday is managing director of Halliday Homes