Prime prices rose or were unchanged during the quarter in all Scottish regions but stock levels are 26% lower compared to the previous year, according to the index from Knight Frank.
This latest rise takes the annual price increase to 2.8%, the largest annual gain in six years, and more expensive properties are seeing sales increase. Indeed, the number of £1 million plus residential property sales picked up significantly in the second half of 2013.
The firm says that confidence among vendors and buyers has returned to the prime Scottish market and tighter stock levels have coincided with an increase in the number of buyers registering their interest in purchasing a prime property in Scotland. There was a 36.5% rise in the number of new applicants over the three months to March 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier.
While the property markets in key Scottish towns and cities, such as Edinburgh, have been the biggest beneficiaries of this increased demand, there are indications that this is filtering out to the wider prime market.
Indeed, prices rose or were unchanged during the quarter in all of the main Scottish regions, led by increases for homes located in the Scottish Borders, the Central region and the Lothians.
Ran Morgan, head of Knight Frank’s Scottish residential department, said that positive signs are emerging. ‘The bulk of sales tend to be concentrated in the sub £1 million price band, although we are seeing a pick up in interest among buyers for well presented, large family homes above this level. However, a lack of stock continues to be an issue,’ he explained.
‘We have noticed a definite hesitancy on the part of some vendors to bring their homes to market before the result of the Independence Referendum in September 2014 is known,’ he pointed out, but added that potential buyers seem less deterred by the Referendum result.
The number of property viewings taking place across the prime Scottish market over the last three months was more than double the number conducted over the same period last year.
The firm’s analysis of stock levels in the prime Scottish property market, excluding Edinburgh, reveals that there are 26% fewer homes on the market in March 2014 compared to the same point in 2013. Also, the ratio of buyers to available properties currently stands at around seven to one.
In line with the wider recovery in the Scottish property market, the number of million pound property sales picked up markedly in the second half of 2013, as confirmed in official sales figures from the Registers of Scotland.
Edinburgh had the most million pound residential sales in Scotland last year with 62, more than double that of any other local authority. Aberdeenshire, including the city, was next with 13%.
