Scottish housing market is dynamic and growing

The property market can be tricky to predict but there are two parts which can give a decent picture of how well things are going. The market for first-time buyers (FTBs) highlights just how strong the market is. If there are lots of FTBs and prices are rising for starter homes, then there will be a ripple effect further up housing ladder. You need impetus from this part of the market to increase demand and push prices up in the future.

First-time buyers will get more for their money in Dundee than the Central Belt (Picture: Adobe)

Equally if the most expensive part of the market is thriving you have a clear sign that all of the market is doing well. If people want and can afford to keep paying more for the largest houses then this is a sign that the upward pressure is being maintained, the market is growing, and prices will continue to rise.

The latest data for both FTBs and detached homes in Scotland both show a positive picture. Between October 2023 and September 2024 average house prices for FTBs increased by £9,189 and for detached homes were up £19,686.

David J Alexander is CEO of DJ Alexander Scotland Ltd (Picture: Laurence Winram)

But within these figures there were huge regional variations across Scotland’s largest cities with the greatest increases occurring in Edinburgh and Glasgow. For FTBs average price increases ranged from £984 in Dundee to £20,737 in Edinburgh while for detached home prices the increases were from £750 in Dundee to £83,597 in the capital.

While first-time buyers in Edinburgh are now having to pay over £400 per week more across the year, those buying a detached home saw prices rise by £1,607 every seven days. Glasgow price rises were above average, with FTBs increasing by £11,904 while detached homes rose by over £1,000 per week to reach £54,673.

These disparities are to be expected. There are clearly more people wanting to live and work in Edinburgh and Glasgow than many other parts of the country. There are also many better paid jobs in these cities so it is not surprising that prices should be rising at the fastest rate in the Central Belt.

Whether this is sustainable in the long term is debatable, but it is clear that the Scottish market is lively, dynamic, and growing. There remains a shortage of new housing in Scotland and, until this shortage is met, prices will continue to rise as many more people want to buy a home.

Clearly these figures show considerable disparity in the affordability of homes at both ends of the market, with FTBs in Aberdeen and Dundee having a much easier time affording their first home.

Detached homes in the capital are clearly an increasingly expensive purchase but this reflects the local, national, and international demand from buyers who are relocating from many parts of the UK and the rest of the world to make Edinburgh their home.

While some may see this as a negative, having a world-class city as your capital can only be good in the long term. More people wanting to live here indicates a positive picture of our housing market that would be the envy of many other places in the world.

David J Alexander is CEO of DJ Alexander Scotland Ltd