HOUSE prices in Scotland’s capital are growing nearly as fast as those in London, a new report has found.
The value of property in Edinburgh jumped by eight per cent during the last 12 months, meaning the property market in Auld Reekie is catching up with what has traditionally been the UK’s most active hotspot, where house prices grew by nearly 10 per cent.
The figures were revealed in the latest Hometrack UK Cities Index, which keeps tabs on house prices in 20 urban centres around the UK.
Edinburgh joins Bristol and Southampton as the areas “snapping on London’s heels”, according to the study. Overall, house prices rose by 4.3 per cent in the UK’s cities between May and July 2015, the highest quarterly growth for 11 years.
However, the after-effects of the property crash are still being felt in some areas with prices said to have grown by 5.5 per cent in Glasgow, although the housing market in Scotland’s largest city remains well below its peak of 2007.
And the clouds of gloom affecting Scotland’s oil industry, where there has been a substantial number of job losses amid a drop in energy prices, has had a knock-on effect in Aberdeen where house price growth has not outperformed the increase in average earnings.
Faisal Choudhry, director of Scottish Research at estate agent Savills, said that it was no surprise that Edinburgh’s property market was leading the way in Scotland.
He said: “Edinburgh was one of the first places to recover from the 2007 crash and remains a hub for the property market.
“This is partly down to its status as a capital city but also supply inside the city is constrained meaning prices are pushed up.
“It is home to some very desirable areas, such as the New Town and Morningside, and it has good schools, parks and Georgian architecture not seen in other cities.”