The Herald:

The Scottish market for homes worth over £1 million witnessed an unprecedented level of activity in 2021, new figures show.

Rettie & Co said that the number of £1m-plus house sales jumped to over 400, up from a previous high of 289 seen in the 2007 market boom.

This level of activity was almost 50% higher than the already buoyant 2020 market and saw the total value of £1m-plus house sales in Scotland jump from just over £400m in 2020 to £583m in 2021.

It found 2021 saw a surge in £1m-plus house sales, with 419 homes sales, registered. This was an increase of almost 50% on 2020, which itself was the highest recorded level since the 2007 market boom, Rettie said.

There was an increase in the proportion of £1m+ sales occurring in accessible towns & rural areas, with urban and flatted sales making up a smaller proportion of sales.


The Herald:


Edinburgh and the Lothians remains the heart of the Scottish £1m-plus market, with two thirds of sales. However, there has been a wider geographical spread in the area where £1m+ sales are now occurring

Simon Rettie managing director at Rettie & Co, said: “The surge in £1m plus house sales over 2021 has been a notable feature of the post-lockdown housing market. Such sales are now well ahead of their previous peaks and nearly 50% ahead of 2020 levels.

“One response to the post-lockdown world has been people’s willingness to consider more rural areas and accessible towns, and the sharp rise in demand for this type of living has caused prices to surge in some of these areas, pushing the most desirable properties over the £1m mark.

“This is clearly seen in parts of East Lothian as well as north of Stirling and east of Loch Lomond.

However, Edinburgh remains at the heart of the Scottish £1m market, accounting for two-thirds of such sales. Nevertheless, here too there has been a greater diversity of such sales, with more pushing out to locations such as Colinton and Trinity, outside previous core prime areas.”


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