The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THE VOICE OF PROPERTY
Beverley Brown
WHILE some property professionals are seeing signs of a slowdown in the UK-wide property market, the good news from Savills is that in Scotland, the residential market is predicted to continue to grow – although at a more modest rate than has been seen during the pandemic.
New research from the firm reveals a fiveyear growth of 15.7 per cent in Scotland, compared to a 12.9 per cent average for the UK. Faisal Choudhry, head of residential research in Scotland comments: “It appears the ‘race for space’ which has been fuelling the UK market since the pandemic struck, has yet to run its course in Scotland.
“During the first four months of the year, the number of new buyers registering with Savills to buy a Scottish property was 95 per cent higher than the same period in 2019, with buyers of prime properties (above £500,000) leading the charge.”
According to data provider TwentyCi, there were 91.8% more agreed sales in Scotland between £500,000 and £1 million, and 124.3% more sales above a million compared with the same period between 2017 and 2019. Cameron Ewer, Savills Head of Residential in Scotland said: “We have seen a prolonged period where demand for residential property has outstripped supply. Although more homes are now being launched to the market, they are being snapped up quickly.
“There were 15.4% fewer prime Scottish properties available to buy at the end of April compared to the same point last year.”
Looking ahead, Choudhry adds: “There continues to be unmet demand for those looking for large properties, and we anticipate it will be these equity-rich buyers who will support the market in the longer term, as they are less impacted by higher costs of debt, rising inflation, and the cost-ofliving crisis triggered by the disturbing events in Ukraine.”
PAUSE for thought. When the Queen came to the throne in 1952 the average UK house price was below £2,000, equivalent to £56,000 in today’s money (we wish). Today, the average property price in the UK is more than 130 times higher than in 1952 – up 365 per cent taking inflation into account.