Desirable detached homes drive dynamic Scottish housing market

The Scottish housing market has been the most buoyant and lively part of the UK property sector over the last year, but it is specifically among the most expensive homes that Scotland is soaring ahead. While the average price of a property in Scotland has risen by 6.3 per cent between December 2023 and November 2024 (the latest period for which there is data), among detached homes the average increase was 7.0 per cent.

But the situation is even more marked in certain areas where average prices continue to roar ahead, with detached homes in Stirling rising by 10.8 per cent; closely followed by Glasgow at 10.2 per cent; and Edinburgh at 10 per cent. What this means in cash terms is that for an average-priced detached home in Scotland homebuyers will have to pay an extra £24,154 over the last year, which is equivalent to £464 per week.

However, in Edinburgh – although not the largest percentage increase – prices have risen by £67,611 in 12 months, which is an extraordinary £1,300 more per week. In Stirling prices rose by £45,572 while in Glasgow the increase was £44,118. In both these cities this means detached home-buyers have had to find an additional £876 and £848 per week respectively for the entire year.

It isn’t just Scotland’s cities that have seen substantial price growth, with East Lothian, Midlothian, East Renfrewshire, and West Lothian all recording increases of between 7 and 8 per cent over the latest 12- month period.

These figures highlight just how much demand there is for detached homes with outside space in Scotland’s largest cities and their surrounding areas. The boom in out-of-town living appears to have ended and buyers are flocking to the cities and are willing to pay substantial prices for the privilege.

Given that these figures cover a period when mortgage rates have been at their highest in a decade it is extraordinary that there are still the buyers to pay these huge prices.

People want to live and work near the vibrancy and dynamism of cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow, and, despite higher personal and property taxes in Scotland people are not put off having to pay more for the privilege. You can only imagine what the market might be like if there was a level playing field for taxation with the rest of the UK.

While this is a positive outcome for Scotland’s housing market it does need to be treated with caution. Marketplaces tend to be volatile if price rises are too great and occur over a short period of time and I would be wary of assuming that such growth is sustainable in the medium to long term.

So, while these figures show that people are keen to live in the Central Belt this will only continue as long as the economy is strong, jobs are plentiful and well paid, and a city lifestyle remains attractive.

Edinburgh and Glasgow remain fantastically vibrant places to live but whether people will be willing or able to pay these kinds of prices for a sustained period is open to question.

Nevertheless, this is still an extraordinary picture of dynamism in the Scottish housing market given the much more subdued experience of the sector across the rest of the UK.