Prime residential (second hand £400,000 and above) led the Scottish housing market during the year ending March 2015, with a 33% annual increase in activity. There were 3,663 prime sales recorded during this period, boosted by purchasers taking advantage of favourable tax rates, ahead of the introduction of the more punitive charges which were introduced as part of the Scottish Land and Buildings Transaction Tax on 1 April this year.

Scotland’s prime market was enhanced by the core hubs of Edinburgh, the Aberdeen area and Greater Glasgow, where activity collectively increased annually by 36%. Together they accounted for 74% of all the transactions that took place in Scotland.

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^{Source: Savills Research}

Edinburgh saw a 40% annual growth in prime sales, with the majority of activity in suburban hotspots. The New Town, Stockbridge and Inverleith were in particular demand last year.

Buoyancy remains in the Aberdeen housing market despite the fact some of the heat has been taken out due to the uncertainty within the oil-dependent local economy. Aberdeen City saw annual growth in prime sales of just 11%, due to a lack of available property. However, buyer demand has trickled outside the city boundaries into Aberdeenshire where there was a massive 57% increase in prime sales.

Greater Glasgow saw a significant annual growth in prime sales of 36%. The city itself is leading the way with strong performance across not only core West End and Pollokshields, but also Broomhill and Jordanhill.