Scotland’s Soaring Property Market

Savills has recently released research that has highlighted the resilience of Scotland’s Prime Property Market. Abode2 takes a closer look at the nation’s exceptional performance over a 12-month period and catches up with Jamie MacNab, Head of Edinburgh Country Houses at Savills, to a get his thoughts.

At the forefront of this boom is Hamilton Grand, a unique collection of 26 luxury private residences situated on the 18th hole of The Old Course, which had a landmark year and sold a selection of its final remaining apartments. Some sales were even being secured via virtual viewings – a true testament to the exceptional quality of the homes, their unrivalled heritage and prime location in the home of golf.

These sales are indicative of an exceptional year for the Scottish property market, which was primarily driven by buyer’s evolving needs – lockdown has fuelled prospective buyers to opt for properties with ample working from home space and direct access to nature. Hamilton Grand is perfectly positioned to meet these demands thanks to its spacious homes and prime location on the world-famous Old Course, overlooking the North Sea. Furthermore, research from Savills, highlighted that despite an overall drop of sales across 2020 – due to the closure of the property market until the end of June – there was a phenomenal 28% increase of agreed sales for residential properties priced £1 million and above between July and December 2020 versus the same period in the previous year*.

During the past year, Savills saw the prestigious Hamilton Grand’s apartments sell for an impressive £1,500 per square foot, which was on a par with the London property market. Further research by Savills also indicates that the Scottish prime property market is set to overtake the UK prime property market over the next five years, meaning top-end homes such as Hamilton Grand will only increase in value.

Jamie MacNab, Head of Edinburgh Country Houses at Savills comments: ‘2020 was one of the busiest years ever in the Scottish country and provincial town markets. St Andrews has always been a highly desirable location and was more so than ever last year. There is intense demand for properties in the town from people throughout Scotland, the UK and abroad. Hamilton Grand is at the very top of the market and has attracted a lot of international interest and it was very encouraging to see an even further increase of interest from homebased buyers – Hamilton Grand has also been remarkable in that we are negotiating and agreeing sales off the back of virtual viewings, rather than in person viewings, which is a testament to the quality of the homes.”

With a low population of just 16,800, and within easy driving distance of the Cairngorms, St Andrews fits into this trend for space and nature, which shows no sign of abating in 2021. Residents enjoy proximity to Scotland’s incredible national parks, while still benefitting from excellent transport links to cultural hubs such as Glasgow and Edinburgh. Hamilton Grand fulfils buyer’s increased desire to focus on their health and wellbeing too: residents have complimentary membership to the nearby Old Course Hotel’s Kohler Waters Spa – one of the leading spas in the world, with facilities that include a 20-metre swimming pool and a rooftop hot tub. Priority dining at the neighbouring Old Course Hotel’s 3 AA rosette restaurant, valet parking, private chefs, full housekeeping services on request and a 24-hour butler service, which ensures they enjoy the highest quality of town living.

Demand for apartments is only expected to increase over the coming months with the upcoming Alfred Dunhill Links Championships taking place on 30th September 2021, and The 150th Open in 2022 on the horizon. Jamie Macnab added: “There is great excitement that The Open Championships are coming home to St Andrews in 2022. With the golfing world focusing on St Andrews, we expect even stronger interest for the remainder of the year for the final remaining apartments at Hamilton Grand.”

Apartments at Hamilton Grand start from £1,050,000 with a rental management programme offered. For further information please visit www.hamiltongrand.co.uk