Average house prices for Scottish new builds have now far outstripped prices for existing homes, according to analysis of the most recent statistics by DJ Alexander.
The agency said that the latest data from the monthly house price index shows that between February 2024 and January 2025 (the latest period for which there is data) the average price of a new build in Scotland increased by £53,939 from £281,508 to £335,447, which is a 19.2% rise over 12 months.
Over the same period the average price of an existing property increased by £8,640 from £165,388 to £174,028, which is a rise of 5.2%.
While all four of the major cities of Scotland showed double digit percentage increases in new build prices – up 20.4% in Glasgow; 19.4% higher in Edinburgh; 15.3% more in Dundee; and 13.0% in Aberdeen – the largest price increase in existing properties was in Glasgow at 5.9% and 5.1% in Edinburgh, while in Dundee and Aberdeen prices rose more modestly by 1.5% and 0.2% respectively.
The number of new build starts has fallen 12.1% year-on-year between 2023-24 and 2024-25, which means that demand will continue to be greater than supply in the next few years, resulting in higher prices in the future.
David Alexander, chief executive officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, commented: “These figures show that new builds continue to attract premium prices. A contributing factor must be the relatively low volume of new builds currently being built causing demand to outstrip supply but there will be other reasons.
“New build sales are critical to the wider property market in Scotland and the lower volume of starts during the latest 12-month period is concerning. At a time when it has never been as important for more homes to be built in Scotland, it is essential that volumes increase to meet demand.”
Alexander added: “Interestingly, this is a very recent phenomenon. In the five years between February 2019 and January 2024 new build prices rose by £57,136 across Scotland which is only slightly greater than the total increase in the most recent 12-month period.
“Therefore, the recent rapid rise in prices is because of a combination of a number of factors, from more efficient heating, convenient locations, and a shortage of new builds being available, all combining to create the current rapid price increases. The only way to meet this demand and stabilise prices is to build more homes.”
Read the orginal article: https://propertyindustryeye.com/scottish-new-build-house-prices-soar-ahead-of-existing-homes/
