Why are Scotland’s house prices beating the rest of the UK?
In 2018, Scotland’s house prices continued to rise, outperforming the rest of the UK right across every style of home – from retirees in the northern cottages to professionals in city centre flats. While London and the South’s house markets remained slow and low, Scotland came into 2019 strong.
The UK House Price Index (HPI) at the end of 2018 showed the average price of a property in Scotland was up 5.8% compared to the same time in 2017, while the rest of the UK grew by just 3.5%. In the same period, RICS’ market survey reported that Scottish estate agents were seeing an increase in homes sold, while the rest of the UK had fairly depressed markets and market predictions. So why is Scotland’s house market doing so well as we kick off 2019?
Demand outweighing supply across Scotland is the main cause for pushing residential prices up across Scotland. Value for money, affordability and the draw of a desirable lifestyle are what Strutt & Parker are attributing with for the increased demand for Scottish residential properties. Mortgages are also relatively affordable compared to other places in the UK.
As well as an increase in prices and number of property sales, the market in Scotland also has a much lower average sale time than other areas of the UK. It takes a home on average just 44 days to sell in Scotland, compared to 72 days in London.
Malcolm Leslie, Head of Residential Agency in Strutt & Parker Scotland says the country is perceived as a growth area, compared to corresponding markets south of the border. It has shown slower growth than England since the 2007 crash and as such has more room to grow. This has been recognised by investors south of the border who are increasingly active in Scotland.
So, what does that mean for our housing market for the rest of 2019? Well with the ‘B’ word we are all sick of hearing about potentially taking place at the end of this month, no one can predict the future of our economy, but Scotland’s housing market is in a great position no matter what the outside factors may bring.
If you are considering buying or selling in 2019, get in touch with Joyce Heeps Homes today.
