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£1m houses becoming ten a penny in Scotland

MILLION-POUND homes are now commonplace throughout Scotland, according to a leading estate agency which has experienced a doubling of seven-figure properties in 12 months.

Knight Frank said it had sold 54 homes worth more than 1 million in the current financial year and expects to double the previous year’s tally of 32.

Meanwhile, new figures have revealed a continued growth in demand for houses in and around Edinburgh. The number of homes sold by the Edinburgh Solicitors Property Centre (ESCP) last year climbed by 14.1 per cent to 19,728 - despite the total number coming on to the market remaining roughly the same.

The ESPC’s latest figures show demand continued to outstrip supply in the capital in 2006, making it harder for first-time buyers to get on to the property ladder.

John Coleman, head of residential sales for Knight Frank Scotland, forecast a 5 to 8 per cent per cent increase in volume this year, with the luxury end showing the biggest rises.

“We are seeing increasing numbers of professionals like doctors, lawyers and accountants now joining people like stockbrokers and fund managers in buying homes of over 1 million,” he said.

He added: “One of the main reasons we are seeing such a rise in 1 million-plus homes is the pressure on the limited number of top-quality homes available. There is a shortage of supply.

“We currently have 199 people on our books who are looking to spend over 1 million on a home in Scotland. They generally want to be in, or near, a major city with an airport.

“There will soon be very few places in Scotland that will not have homes worth over 1 million. We sold houses in Falkirk and Newton Stewart for that sum this last year - which would have been thought of as ‘unbelievable’ not so long ago.”

Examples of properties that can be bought for around 1 million include a five-bedroom townhouse in Stockbridge, Edinburgh; a country house near Dumfries; a farm in Clackmannanshire, and a hotel in Boat of Garten, Inverness-shire.

Hector Grant, director of customer services at the ESPC, said: “We are seeing more and more properties selling for 1 million or more.”

He said the capital’s property market was being fuelled by the growth in the financial sector, with London-based stockbrokers and fund managers spending six and seven-figure bonuses on properties.

In Edinburgh, the average price of residential property rose annually by just over 11 per cent in 2006, to 195,534.

Mark Hordern, of the Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre, said: “There’s no doubt that, up until a few years ago, 1 million was a psychological barrier for buyers. But that has been smashed.”

John MacRae, chairman of the Aberdeen Solicitors Property Centre, said: “People would have got excited about a million- pound house ten years ago. We are now seeing houses go for several million.”