House prices in Scotland are expected to take off in 2025, according to Zoopla analysis.
This is based on how quickly properties are selling, whether asking prices are being cut to attract demand and how many homes have been on the market for more than six months.
The leader is the Motherwell postal area, where house prices average at £129,000 and are already increasing by 3.8%.
The top five UK housing markets are in Eastern Scotland, in and around Glasgow covering Motherwell, Glasgow, Paisley, Falkirk and Kirkcaldy.
In England the strongest markets are led by Newcastle, closely followed by Leeds, Stoke-on-Trent, Wigan and Carlisle, where house prices are already rising by 2-5% annually.
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla, said: “While the outlook is best in Scotland and Northern England, there is a spread right across the UK reflecting the demand for and affordability of homes.”
The areas with the lowest rankings for 2025 are in inner London and across Southern England.
However Sutton in South London is deemed to have better prospects than elsewhere in the capital, where it takes 33 days for properties to sell, and where only 14% of home sell below the asking price, down from 20% for London as a whole.
Areas with few growth prospects include coastal towns in Southern England, like Bournemouth and Torquay. Others are in closer proximity to London, including Tunbridge Wells and Canterbury, where prices grew quickly over the pandemic and local markets are adjusting to higher mortgage rates.
Donnell added: “Home values are likely to rise at a lower rate in areas towards the bottom of the rankings.
“Value for money is slowly returning to the London property market after a decade of below-average growth so while many London areas are towards the bottom of the rankings the prospects in London are much improved on those over recent years.”
Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “As rising mortgage costs start to bite, affordability will become a more important consideration for buyers.
“As demand spreads further around the UK, traditionally less popular locations will move onto the radar for more people.
“We would expect stronger price growth in more affordable areas, with demand underpinned by a higher concentration of needs-driven buyers.”
