Recent data from the UK’s largest estate agency group, Lomond, highlights a remarkable trend in the housing market, with Scottish cities dominating the list of the country’s busiest property markets. Meanwhile, Birmingham emerges as the hottest property spot outside of Scotland, solidifying its position in the top four housing markets across Britain.
Scottish cities take the lead in housing sales
Lomond’s analysis of the latest transactional data reveals that eight of the top 20 most active property markets are located in Scotland. Across the UK, approximately 40,269 homes are sold monthly, with Scotland accounting for a significant portion of these sales. An average of 7,261 homes are sold each month in Scotland, making up 18% of the total UK property transactions.
Glasgow tops the list as Britain’s home-selling hotspot, with 899 properties sold each month, while Edinburgh closely follows with 837 monthly sales. Fife rounds off the Scottish top three, boasting 525 property transactions per month. Other Scottish regions in the top 20 include South Lanarkshire, Falkirk, Aberdeen, Renfrewshire, and North Lanarkshire.
Birmingham leads property market in England
Outside of Scotland, Birmingham ranks as the leading housing market, with an average of 499 homes sold each month, placing it fourth in the UK overall. The Midlands city is followed by Leeds, which secures its place in the top five with 491 sales per month. County Durham, Cornwall, and Leicester also perform strongly, each earning spots within the top 10 of Britain’s busiest housing markets.
David J Alexander, CEO of Lomond Scotland, commented on Scotland’s exceptional performance: “The Scottish housing market continues to defy expectations. Not only do prices keep rising, but volumes also remain remarkably high.” Alexander attributed part of this success to cities like Edinburgh, which attract buyers both domestically and internationally due to its status as a global destination. “Despite very high levels of housing supply, demand is even greater, resulting in prices continuing to rise,” he added.
Can Scotland’s market sustain its growth?
One of the key questions facing property investors and landlords is whether Scotland’s housing market can maintain this impressive growth. Alexander explained, “The usual situation for the housing market is to have a steady flow of properties for sale, resulting in a moderate annual increase in prices over the long term. Clearly, the Scottish market is outperforming this, with demand and sales both increasing.”
However, he also noted that the long-term sustainability of this growth remains uncertain. “Whether this is sustainable in the long term is open to question, but at present, this is a market that is doing extremely well and this is to be welcomed.”
With the Scottish housing market booming and Birmingham holding its own as the leading property hotspot in England, investors and landlords across the UK are likely to watch these regions closely for future opportunities. While it remains to be seen if this surge can continue, for now, Scotland and Birmingham are setting the pace in the competitive housing market.