Scots properties sell faster to foreigners as market heats up

Plots of land in Gleneagles, cottages in Argyll, and family homes in Edinburgh are all being snapped up before the economy picks up too much steam.

Housing experts suggest they are cashing in on a 25 per cent discount on properties once their foreign currencies are converted to the weak British pound.

Property specialists Rettie & Co in Edinburgh said that, since December, investment from overseas buyers was higher than normal, particularly from Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Switzerland. The firm's Simon Rettie said: "It's a good time for people with a portfolio of investment such as stocks and shares and commercial property, to invest in residential bricks and mortar for long-term gain and to spread the investment risk.

"Investors have been buying up family homes where demand from tenants remains strong, such as a new-build, four-bed house in Edinburgh's up-market Balerno Ravelrig Wynd. They are also buying high-spec city apartments for young professionals such as four units at Quartermile, on the site of the old Edinburgh infirmary.

"And they are buying homes for studying children, such as a three-bedroom apartment at Holyrood Park for a child studying at Edinburgh University."

He added that plots of land in Gleneagles and cottages at Ardpatrick Estate in Argyll were further examples of the increase in foreign sales.

A property at Queens Crescent in Gleneagles sold for 925,000, according to Mr Rettie, while the new-build house in Balerno had a guide price of 795,000. The three-bedroom flat for a child studying in Edinburgh went for 423,000. Quartermile apartments start at 155,000, the same as the Old Post Office cottage on the Ardpatrick Estate in Argyll.

Mark Hordern, spokesman for Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre (GSPC), said such a trend would matter little to most Scots living in an average house and it affected only a very small number of properties at the top of the market.

He said: "Prices are 10 per cent cheaper than a year ago and the fall of the pound means it's 25 per cent to a third cheaper, depending on what currency you're buying in. Most investors are looking for property that can be easily converted back into currency, so they're seeking the most prestigious and sought-after locations.

"It's probably only Edinburgh where property is likely to meet those investors' criteria. Where prices are high, there is almost always a buyer."

Mr Hordern added that foreign investors would probably hold on to the properties for at least three or four years, until prices rose and the pound was stronger.

Expats looking to return home could also use the low value of the pound to get into the property market. Mr Rettie said that was a continuing trend.