Outlander star Steven Cree said of the area he grew up in that those on a flying visit might not appreciate “all of its charms”.
Despite his enthusiasm for the town linked to Robert Burns and whisky, it appears that Killie is still not high up on the list of places Scots want to settle down in.
According to new data, Kilmarnock recorded the slowest growth in property prices in Scotland over the past decade.
The East Ayrshire town had the fourth lowest price increase in the UK, behind Middlesbrough, Peterlee in County Durham and Hartlepool.
The average asking price for a property in the East Ayrshire town was £117,085 in January 2022, a rise of 11.7 per cent from January 2012’s figure of £104,843. No areas of Scotland made it into the top 10 list of areas with the highest property price growth.
Margate, in England’s southeast coast, took the top spot, according to figures compiled by Rightmove, recording an increase of 102.5% over 10 years, from £145,311 to £294,209.
READ MORE: Outlander star Steven Cree on his Kilmarnock childhood, wild days and the truth about Onthank
The majority of other areas were also in Kent, which is said to be the most affluent postcode area in the UK.
Across the UK, average asking prices have risen by more than £100,000 over the past 10 years, up by 53% to £341,019
While the data covers a 10-year period, other figures published last year show Kilmarnock enjoyed a property boom in 2021.
Bank of Scotland data found the town recorded one of the largest increases in terms of percentage and cash terms in the UK.
According to its figures average house prices rose by almost £20,000 (£19,183) which equates to a 13.1 per cent rise compared to 2020.
In 2020 the average home in Kilmarnock was sold for £146,351 but this increased to £165,534 in 2021.
Kilmarnock is famed for its links to Johnnie Walker whisky and was the birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Alexander Fleming, but was named Scotland’s least desirable place to live in 2013 in an “alternative” guide book.
The town’s MSP, Willie Coffrey, dismissed the book’s slurs as the carping of “Champagne Charlies”.
He said at the time: “Folk in Killie are getting sick and tired of these stuck-up types who want to run us down. First we had those who made The Scheme and exploited the chaotic lifestyles of addicts, all of whom are worse for appearing in a fabricated piece of documentary rubbish.”
READ MORE: The Glasgow townhouse that was 'most viewed' property after Robbie Williams' mansion
One in four people (25%) in Kilmarnock are said to live in a deprived neighbourhood, with a fifth of children experiencing poverty.
In a recent interview with The Herald, Outlander and A Discovery of Witches star Cree said the “poverty porn” of BBC show The Scheme had made him fiercely defensive of his home town.
He said: “The Scheme gave Kilmarnock a bad name, it gave Onthank a bad name and it gave council estates a bad name. It was poverty porn. And done in the most snobbish way.
“I remember watching it at the time and it made me feel fiercely defensive of Kilmarnock and even more proud to be from there.”
“For quite a long time afterwards, when I said that I was from Kilmarnock, people would jokingly say, “Oh, I hope you are not from The Scheme …” I would say,
“Actually, I am.” The TV series gave such an unfair reflection of life there.”
READ MORE: Pandemic drives property market changes
Other, new property data has revealed that Edinburgh has experienced a
surge in interest from those looking to rent or buy.
Analysis by online search tool MediaVision said online searches for “flats to rent Edinburgh” were up 103.31% compared to 2021, “flats for sale Edinburgh”rose by 56%.
It compared search behaviours and terms for January 2022 with the same month in 2021.
The pandemic is said to have led to a rise in people retreating to the suburbs and more rural areas, but data suggests this trend may be reversing.
*updated to include Bank of Scotland 2020 data*
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