The Herald - The Herald Magazine
THE VOICE OF PROPERTY
ACCORDING to Rettie’s newly published £1m Market Briefing for Scotland, 2022 saw the housing market smash the record for £1m+ sales in a year, with 504 transactions passing the landmark price. This surpassed the 419 sales in 2020, which in turn, surpassed the previous record of 280 £1m+ sales, a new record at the time. In just two years, the Scottish £1m+ market has risen by 80 per cent.
Looking at some of the key findings, in 2022 the St Andrews area delivered 17 sales in the £1m+ category, while house price inflation pushed over 130 transactions into the £1m+ price band – and despite the pandemicinduced ‘escape to the country’, most sales were in urban areas, with the EH10 postcode now showing the most £1m+ sales in Scotland. In fact, 68 per cent of £1m+ sales last year were in Edinburgh and Lothians, spurred in part by new development in the city.
CURIOUSLY perhaps, given the hype regarding a substantial downturn in the property market, Scotland’s largest estate agency and letting agents DJ Alexander has found the number of properties advertised for sale in Scotland has increased in parts of the country – up 75 per cent in Glasgow comparing February 2022 with February 2023; up 37 per cent in Perth; 34 per cent higher in Edinburgh; 28 per cent greater in Dundee; 25 per cent up in Inverness; and 10 per cent down in Aberdeen.
Detached properties showed the greatest increase in volumes – the year-on-year increase in Glasgow alone was 253 per cent. Commenting on the firm’s analysis, CEO David Alexander says: “The somewhat surprising increase in the number of properties advertised could be precisely because many sellers are expecting price falls and are trying to sell before this occurs. It could also be people who are anticipating a hike in their mortgage payments and are selling before higher payments impact upon them. Of course, more properties advertised for sale at any one time usually results in lower prices as supply exceeds demand, but we are finding that the market remains very buoyant despite continued negative forecasts from the doommongers.”
He continues: “There may be a bit more realism among sellers about price setting but there are still a lot of buyers in the market. This is undoubtedly because we have record levels of employment, clear signs that the projected recession is going to be less severe than anticipated, and that inflation appears to be falling already and will be substantially lower by the end of this year. However, I do still believe a price correction will occur – the most recent predictions have been for an 8 – 10 per cent fall.”
TAYLOR Wimpey has launched a new sales information office at its Amble Court development in the new neighbourhood of Jacktonhall, within the East Kilbride Community Growth Area (EKCGA).
Potential buyers can now receive information on the neighbourhood and the development’s tailored incentives, and choice of two, three, and four-bedroomed homes, priced from £218,000 for the twobedroomed Andrew semi-detached house type, rising to £348,000 for a four-bedroomed Drummond. Amble Court benefits from excellent transport links. Visit www. taylorwimpey.co.uk/amble-court.