Sales of £1 million homes soar in Scotland

THE number of Scottish properties that sold for more than £1 million rocketed by 14 per cent last year, according to research by the Bank of Scotland.

The sale of luxury homes outperformed the housing market as a whole, where sales volumes fell by 6 per cent. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The 151 sold far outstripped the top end of the market elsewhere in the UK, where the sector rose by just 2 per cent.

The sale of luxury homes also outperformed the housing market as a whole, where sales volumes fell by 6 per cent.

A third of all million-pound-plus sales were in Edinburgh, where 50 homes were sold – substantially higher than anywhere else in Scotland and the highest in Britain outside southern England. Aberdeen recorded the second-highest number in Scotland with 19, followed by South Lanarkshire, where nine homes costing over £1m were snapped up by wealthy buyers.

But the number of million-pound homes sold in Edinburgh dipped compared with the previous year, whereas Aberdeen saw an increase of 46 per cent, due to strong demand from within the oil community.

“Scotland outperformed the rest of the Britain on million-pound property sales with an increase of 14 per cent, compared to just 2 per cent nationally,” said Nitesh Patel, Bank of Scotland housing economist. “While we see an 18 per cent drop in the number of Edinburgh properties sold, the city of Aberdeen saw a very solid 46 per cent increase over the year. Strong demand from cash-rich buyers, particularly those associated with the oil industry, as well as limited supply, has support this segment of the market.”

UK-wide, total sales of million-pound homes rose by 2 per cent from 7,270 in 2011 to 7,397 in 2012, but still remains below the peak of 8,233 at the height of the housing boom.

Scotland, the East Midlands and Greater London were the only areas to see a rise between 2011 and 2012. The remaining eight nations and regions in Great Britain recorded a fall, led by Wales, which witnessed a 71 per cent drop.

Sarah Speirs, director of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Scotland, said: “With the housing market showing some positive signs in the first few months of 2013, it is encouraging to see an increase in home sales in excess of £1m, which demonstrates the strength of the Scottish economy in specific regions.”

She added: “Demand remains high for good-quality housing in prime locations.

“However, more support and access to affordable mortgage finance is still required to support many first-time buyers and promote growth across the housing market.”

However, estate agent Rettie & Co, which specialises in the high end of the property market, disputed the figures, saying its own data, out next week, would show there were actually 122 such sales in Scotland in 2012, a fall from the 129 recorded in 2011.

Rettie & Co’s head of research, Dr John Boyle, said the Bank of Scotland figures might have taken into account sales of sporting estates and farmland, accounting for the difference in the figures.

“However, there are encouraging signs for 2013,” he added. “Rettie & Co have already sold ten £1m-plus properties in the Edinburgh market in the first quarter alone. This provides some encouraging evidence that the top-end market may now be strongly recovering in the east of Scotland.”