Scotland Sees Record £1m+ House Sales in 2023
Scotland has seen an increase in annual £1 million plus house sales, reaching a new high of 506 transactions in 2023, up from 504 in 2022, according to property firm Rettie.
The market remains dominated by Edinburgh, which accounts for 50% of overall sales. However, the West has been catching up, with Glasgow and the rest of the region accounting for 134 £1m plus sales last year, representing 26% of all sales and up by 39 sales on the previous year.
Simon Rettie, managing director at Rettie, said: “Most of the growth in the £1m plus market has been in Glasgow and the West, while sales in Edinburgh have fallen back by nearly 20%.
“This has been due to a combination of higher interest rates and buyer confidence, particularly in the super-prime market which we classify as houses over £2m. St Andrews and East Lothian continue to outperform the market with an increasing number of sales over £1m.
“For 2024, we forecast a gradual improvement in both buyer confidence and the rate of prime sales aligned with a drop in interest rates.”
Dr John Boyle, director of strategy and research at Rettie, said: “For the Scottish housing market as a whole, 2023 was a difficult year. However, the overall outcome was not as bad as some had initially feared at the end of 2022.
“In fact, the average house price was actually up 0.8% for 2023, although market transactions were down nearly 10%.
“What is clear, is that the prime £1m plus market withstood the market headwinds better than the overall market.”