Revealed: Priciest postcodes in Scotland

Published on Tuesday 21 April 2009 22:08

A PRIVATE road that overlooks Gleneagles golf course has been named Scotland's most expensive street.

The average price of the mansions nestling behind huge hedges and electronic gates in Caledonian Crescent, Auchterarder, is 1.587 million, according to the house price website Zoopla.

The "Scottish Property Rich List", published yesterday, also names Milltimber, a suburb of Aberdeen with the postcode AB13, as the country's most expensive area to live, with average house prices estimated at 422,760.

• Click here to see the full list of top postcodes

Second on the street list was Wester Coates Avenue in Edinburgh, with homes valued at an average 1.24 million, followed by Dalmuinzie Road in Aberdeen at 1.19 million.

The village of Humbie in East Lothian, postcode EH36, was named as the country's second-plushest area, with an average property value of 377,582. The AB15 area of Aberdeen, which includes Hazelhead, came third.

Zoopla said that despite the market downturn, Edinburgh still had 199 streets with average house values above 500,000; Glasgow had 118.

Alex Chesterman, chief executive of Zoopla, said: "Despite the current economic climate, much of Scotland's wealth remains tied up in the property market and while average house prices are down across the board on last year, there remain some pretty impressive figures in this year's Scottish Property Rich List."

Estate agents agree that Caledonian Crescent is Scotland's most expensive address.

Jamie Macnab, of Savills, said: "It is usually private sales only in Caledonian Crescent. The last one we sold was Strathearn Lodge at the end of last year – I think the price was in the region of 3.5 million. People of untold wealth live there. They do not need mortgages, they pay by cash. People buy new houses and knock them down."

Fiona Greenwood, director of property services at Miller Hendry in Perth, said: "Caledonian Crescent is not the kind of area where you would see a 'for sale' sign.

"It's a private road, very exclusive, and has got a lot of cachet because it is in the home of Gleneagles. The houses are substantial mansions with extensive grounds. Some of them are traditional, some of them are fairly new but made to look like they were built in the old style."

Tony Dawson, senior partner at James & George Collie, in Aberdeen, said the AB13 postcode had historically attracted people with a high income and wealth.

"There are a number of large, detached granite or modern houses. The properties tend to have large grounds – four or five-bedroomed houses on modern estates. The quality of the building is good, therefore the average prices are higher than in other good areas.

"The fact that the oil industry in the north-east of Scotland has not really suffered substantially despite the recession is another reason why the prices there have not typically declined.

"Historically, a lot of people working in the oil industry want to live in this area because there are excellent schools and other facilities."

However, all the properties and streets listed suffered average price drops of between six and 14 per cent over the past 12 months, Zoopla said.

Mr Macnab said this was because no aspect of the housing market had managed to escape the effects of the recession.

"The market has been hit in all sectors from top to bottom," he said.