Scottish new-build market is thriving after strong performance throughout pandemic year

Research by the new-build snagging and defect management experts, HouseScan, shows that the Scottish new-build market has enjoyed steady and reliable price growth throughout the past pandemic year, with South Ayrshire and nearby Glasgow leading the way.

Since the start of 2020, the Scottish new-build market has put in an impressive performance, with new-build house prices climbing 8.7% to £229,159 across the nation.

Spearheading this growth is South Ayrshire where the average new-build price is up from £186,974 to £215,824 in the year, a boost of 15.4%. This is closely followed by the City of Glasgow where new-build house prices have climbed 14.5% to £210,662.

Just up the road, in Inverclyde, new-build prices have increased by 13.2% annually, followed by Perth & Kinross (12.5%). Rounding off the top five Scottish new-build price growth hotspots is Moray, in the north of the country, where prices have risen by 11.7%.

At the other end of the table, the cities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh have enjoyed slower but still positive annual growth, with prices rising by 1.3% and 4.3% respectively. Despite slower growth, Edinburgh is still home to the most expensive new-build prices in Scotland, at an average value of £332,900.

And, despite growth rates being relatively low, Edinburgh continues to be Scotland’s most active new-build market, ranking number one in terms of total new-build sales volume. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 865 new-build sales in Edinburgh, accounting for 10.3% of total market activity across Scotland.

Close behind in the number two spot is Glasgow, Scotland’s most populous city, where 757 new-build sales account for 9% of the national total. Completing the top five are South Lanarkshire (589 sales), North Lanarkshire (578 sales), and East Lothian (526 sales).

Founder and Managing Director of HouseScan, Harry Yates, commented:

“The Scottish housing market is experiencing a period of boom and the country has become an increasingly popular house hunting destination for a number of reasons.

Open space, beauty, and affordable house prices have helped drive Scotland’s recent market successes and many homebuyers are looking to the new-build sector when climbing the Scottish property ladder.

Building a strong and capable infrastructure is a vital part of national growth and the new-build sector will continue to play a central role in this progression across Scotland in the years to come.”

*New-build average price change (March 2020 to February 2021)*
Location	NB ave price - March 2020	NB ave price - February 2021	Change £	Change %
South Ayrshire	£186,974	£215,824	£28,850	15.4%
City of Glasgow	£183,996	£210,662	£26,666	14.5%
Inverclyde	£137,202	£155,331	£18,129	13.2%
Perth and Kinross	£258,493	£290,767	£32,275	12.5%
Moray	£199,039	£222,371	£23,333	11.7%
Argyll and Bute	£152,727	£169,905	£17,177	11.2%
East Lothian	£290,594	£322,980	£32,386	11.1%
Dumfries and Galloway	£178,714	£198,526	£19,811	11.1%
South Lanarkshire	£196,346	£217,545	£21,199	10.8%
East Ayrshire	£139,190	£153,703	£14,513	10.4%
Angus	£202,299	£221,135	£18,836	9.3%
Renfrewshire	£163,392	£178,235	£14,844	9.1%
Fife	£209,099	£228,068	£18,969	9.1%
East Renfrewshire	£302,084	£329,312	£27,228	9.0%
West Dunbartonshire	£198,819	£216,075	£17,256	8.7%
Scottish Borders	£187,102	£203,238	£16,136	8.6%
North Lanarkshire	£159,342	£172,952	£13,610	8.5%
Stirling	£230,589	£250,178	£19,589	8.5%
North Ayrshire	£116,675	£126,370	£9,695	8.3%
West Lothian	£233,102	£251,038	£17,936	7.7%
City of Dundee	£157,332	£169,280	£11,948	7.6%
Falkirk	£203,962	£218,841	£14,879	7.3%
East Dunbartonshire	£280,956	£299,636	£18,680	6.6%
Highland	£181,607	£192,704	£11,098	6.1%
Aberdeenshire	£200,549	£209,621	£9,072	4.5%
City of Edinburgh	£319,135	£332,900	£13,766	4.3%
Midlothian	£298,075	£309,052	£10,977	3.7%
Clackmannanshire	£164,354	£170,026	£5,672	3.5%
City of Aberdeen	£240,563	£243,746	£3,183	1.3%
SCOTLAND	£210,870	£229,159	£18,289	8.7%

*New build sales volume (March 2020 to Feburary 2021)*
Location	NB sales volume - Mar 2020 to Feb 2021	Proportion of overall NB sales volume
City of Edinburgh	865	10.3%
City of Glasgow	757	9.0%
South Lanarkshire	589	7.0%
North Lanarkshire	578	6.9%
East Lothian	526	6.2%
Fife	483	5.7%
West Lothian	479	5.7%
Renfrewshire	406	4.8%
Aberdeenshire	379	4.5%
City of Aberdeen	365	4.3%
Midlothian	365	4.3%
Highland	357	4.2%
Perth and Kinross	287	3.4%
City of Dundee	249	3.0%
East Renfrewshire	204	2.4%
Falkirk	188	2.2%
Angus	178	2.1%
North Ayrshire	153	1.8%
East Ayrshire	136	1.6%
Moray	135	1.6%
East Dunbartonshire	116	1.4%
South Ayrshire	114	1.4%
Scottish Borders	86	1.0%
Clackmannanshire	84	1.0%
Stirling	78	0.9%
Argyll and Bute	77	0.9%
West Dunbartonshire	75	0.9%
Inverclyde	59	0.7%
Dumfries and Galloway	48	0.6%
SCOTLAND	8432	100.0%