Aberdeen, Dundee, Angus and the Scottish Borders also recorded respective rises of 59pc, 46pc, 28pc and 30pc. In Edinburgh and Glasgow, sales rose by 14pc and 11pc.
The post-lockdown shift to home working has also brought relocators from farther afield along with second home buyers. In the west of Scotland, 60pc of Savills’ deals so far this year were to buyers from outside Scotland, primarily England, said Mr Ewer. Before the pandemic, the share was 40pc.
For the most expensive homes, buyers were paying 10pc over Home Report, the amount the property is valued at by surveyors, and the maximum that banks will lend to. For country property, buyers offering 20pc to 30pc over this price has been common, according to Mr Ewer. “And if you have a waterside holiday cottage, you’re looking at 35pc over.” Excessive offers must be made up with cash, as mortgage lenders will not cover the difference.
Overall, agreed sales in the first half of the year were 12pc above 2019 levels, according to Savills. Yet technically this means that, in terms of transaction volumes, Scotland is underperforming. Across Britain, agreed sales were up 36pc over the same period.
Agents blame a shortage of supply. “We’re down 25pc on available stock versus 2019,” Mr Ewer said. “But levels of demand are up 165pc across Scotland.”
Mr McEwan said: “We would normally have 1,000 properties on our books. Right now, we have 400. There are more buyers who want to move to change their lifestyle, but sellers don’t want to list until they can find somewhere to move to.”
Credit: Source link
