Rettie Property Research Services

Rettie have produced an analysis of the £1 million prime residential market in Scotland. Rettie sold over 25% of this market by value in 2020.

The 2020 figures from Citylets have reported the first annual fall in average advertised rents in Edinburgh since 2009, and this has raised concern among some of those involved in the market. However, this downturn is not unexpected and a rebalancing of the Edinburgh rental market will certainly be welcomed by tenants and politicians.

If 2020 was a person, it would definitely be on Santa's naughty list. Depending on your outlook, experiences or political persuasion, we will all have our own list this Christmas of politicians, other public figures, and people that we think either deserves a visit from Santa, or a less welcomed visit from Krampus. But, truth be told, 2020 has been a challenging year for us all.

The Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown restrictions have shown the benefits of professionally managed purposed built rental housing. As the office and retail sectors enter a period of readjustment in wake of changing behavioural patterns, BTR is well positioned to both meet housing demand as well as absorb City Centre space.

We proactively continued our engagement with our client database during lockdown to keep them informed of opportunities that would be coming to the market once restrictions were lifted. We have also taken active steps to allow potential buyers to view new build properties in a safe and compliant way. These steps have resulted in a strong return in new build sales since the market reopened in July.

There was widespread uncertainty in the rental sector and among our clients as lockdown was introduced as fears over lease abandonment, the short-term rental market and the potential for extended voids all came in to sharp focus. By keeping in close communication with our both our landlords and tenants, we have been able to avoid unexpected outcomes and mitigate many of the potential downsides of lockdown across our portfolio.

The Covid-19 pandemic has led many sectors to reconsider their real estate requirements and assets - from office, to student, to tourism and leisure there is currently a widespread review of strategy ongoing. In the short term, we are already seeing opportunities coming to the market as result of the pandemic, which is creating an active residential development market.

With the Covid-19 pandemic accelerating the reality of home working, and making households re-evaluate their home as more than just a place to sleep, many families are now looking further-afield to find their ideal home. This pattern has seen enquiries for quality rural properties outstrip supply in the Summer and Autumn markets.

The secession of trading during the usually busy Spring months, due to Government restrictions, led to an unseasonally buoyant Summer market which persisted into the Autumn. With time to reflect on life and housing needs earlier in the year, it has been families looking to make changes to lifestyle and living arrangements which have been a key component of the post-lockdown market.

The lifting of lockdown has seen a jump in enquiries from Glasgow based buyers looking to move out of the city and considering multiple locations within the commuter hinterland where they are weighing up lifestyle, housing quality and value, and accessibility. Ever popular, Kirkintilloch & Lenzie has long been a popular choice...

The rise of home working has led many families to now seriously consider moving further from town to gain the outdoors lifestyle and greater living space that previously seemed out of reach. With its hills and woodlands, and accessibility via road and rail, the lure of the Scottish Borders has never been stronger for many buyers.

With its open green spaces and quality housing, the Southside of Glasgow has seen a surge in demand from families looking for more space or a better quality of life. Strong demand has meant that, when competitive closing dates are set, we have seen strong premiums achieved above Home Report so far this year.