WEBVTT - What is making the Scottish housing market so different to England right now? 0:00:03.420 --> 0:00:07.200 Hello, this is Mortgage Insider from Barclays, the one- stop 0:00:07.200 --> 0:00:10.440 shop for mortgage brokers and everything that you need to 0:00:10.440 --> 0:00:14.760 know about the housing market. I'm Phil Spencer, property expert 0:00:15.060 --> 0:00:19.350 and sometime TV presenter. In this episode, we're looking specifically 0:00:19.350 --> 0:00:23.280 at Scotland. Whilst the housing market in England is showing 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:26.910 signs of slowing down, many house sales in Scotland are 0:00:26.910 --> 0:00:30.210 attracting offers above the asking price. Obviously they have a 0:00:30.210 --> 0:00:33.540 different system there. So to find out more, I'm joined 0:00:33.810 --> 0:00:37.680 by Colleen Babcock, who's head of partner marketing and property 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:42.150 expert at Rightmove and by someone who's traveled all the 0:00:42.150 --> 0:00:45.300 way from Glasgow this morning to join us. Lynne Peterkin. 0:00:46.020 --> 0:00:49.830 She's managing director at First Mortgage, one of the biggest 0:00:49.979 --> 0:00:54.030 brokerages in Scotland that also operates south of the border. So 0:00:54.030 --> 0:00:57.030 great to have you with us both. So Lynne, here 0:00:57.030 --> 0:01:00.420 we are right at the end of March. Can you 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:02.310 talk to us for the benefit of those of us 0:01:02.310 --> 0:01:05.040 space in the south of England, about the headlines and 0:01:05.040 --> 0:01:07.500 things that you're seeing in the housing market in Scotland at 0:01:07.530 --> 0:01:07.920 the moment? 0:01:08.100 --> 0:01:11.640 Yeah. So it's been a really strong start to Scotland 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:16.200 this year. We had a very good run in 2025 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:20.520 and usually you'll see in quarter one lots of inquiries 0:01:20.520 --> 0:01:22.830 coming in, but not a lot of movement. But the 0:01:22.860 --> 0:01:25.920 property market's been really steady this first quarter of the 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:29.880 year. Lots of demand, lots of first time buyers and 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:33.540 home movers looking to move into the next home. But 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:36.750 like everywhere else in the UK just now, there's a bit of an 0:01:36.750 --> 0:01:41.580 imbalance between demand and supply set in certain regions as 0:01:41.580 --> 0:01:42.569 well in Scotland. 0:01:42.869 --> 0:01:45.990 Colleen, is that reflected in the data that you're seeing at Rightmove? 0:01:46.050 --> 0:01:49.860 Certainly what we're seeing is really consistent positive house growth. 0:01:50.130 --> 0:01:55.710 From all over Scotland, 2025 was really strong, 2% growth. 0:01:56.190 --> 0:01:59.850 And that's really interesting because Scotland has outperformed England and 0:01:59.850 --> 0:02:04.290 Wales. So the growth was only 0. 5% in house prices across 0:02:04.290 --> 0:02:07.170 the UK as a whole. So definitely something that we're 0:02:07.170 --> 0:02:08.220 seeing in the data. 0:02:08.880 --> 0:02:11.730 And Lynne, how are your clients finding it actually on the 0:02:11.730 --> 0:02:12.540 ground of those who are active at the moment? 0:02:14.220 --> 0:02:16.470 So we've got two types of clients. We've got the 0:02:16.470 --> 0:02:20.310 clients that are really eager to move straight away, saved 0:02:20.310 --> 0:02:24.060 all the deposit, wanting a city life and don't want 0:02:24.060 --> 0:02:26.400 to budge from a city life. Then we've got the 0:02:26.400 --> 0:02:29.519 other client who has been saving a deposit for ages, 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.970 trying to get onto the property ladder, but are more 0:02:33.210 --> 0:02:38.130 open to looking outside of our typical cities to try 0:02:38.130 --> 0:02:41.400 and get onto the property market. Just like what Colleen 0:02:41.400 --> 0:02:45.690 said there, there is better buck for your money, if 0:02:45.690 --> 0:02:48.870 I could say it that way. And our surrounding areas 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:54.960 outside of our top places, Edinburgh and Glasgow are our hotspots. 0:02:55.139 --> 0:02:56.820 So that's kind of what we're finding on the ground. 0:02:57.030 --> 0:02:58.410 A lot of people getting outbid as well. 0:02:58.770 --> 0:03:02.639 People always search out value, don't they? Whatever stage of life, 0:03:02.730 --> 0:03:05.100 particularly, I always think first time buyers are brilliant at 0:03:05.100 --> 0:03:08.790 searching out value. But Colleen, I'm interested to know how 0:03:09.660 --> 0:03:12.899 the Scotland market compares with England and Wales at the moment. 0:03:13.500 --> 0:03:16.950 So it is outperforming. It's really down to the fact 0:03:16.950 --> 0:03:19.858 that you can find much cheaper property prices in Scotland 0:03:20.100 --> 0:03:23.160 and that's really underpinning the growth that we're seeing. And 0:03:23.160 --> 0:03:27.780 we're also seeing people finding a buyer much more quickly 0:03:27.870 --> 0:03:29.760 in Scotland. That's a general trend. 0:03:31.230 --> 0:03:33.450 I did a bit of research into your own right 0:03:33.450 --> 0:03:36.900 move numbers and yes, Scotland was 40 days to find 0:03:36.900 --> 0:03:39.810 a buyer, whereas the UK was 74 days. That's a 0:03:40.110 --> 0:03:41.760 significant difference. 0:03:41.940 --> 0:03:45.300 It's really dramatic. And interestingly, in the first part of 0:03:45.300 --> 0:03:49.440 2026, it's actually gone down by four days. So it's 0:03:49.440 --> 0:03:52.440 sped up considerably. If you're looking at the first time 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:55.140 buyer market that Lynne has just mentioned there, it's actually 0:03:55.380 --> 0:03:58.290 two days less for those sellers of first time buyer 0:03:58.500 --> 0:04:02.580 properties to actually find a buyer successfully. So there's demand 0:04:02.580 --> 0:04:03.271 happening there in Scotland. 0:04:03.271 --> 0:04:05.760 And what do we put that down to apart from 0:04:05.760 --> 0:04:08.670 the... It is more affordable, the point of entry is 0:04:08.670 --> 0:04:11.940 lower, but what else is making that distinction? 0:04:12.030 --> 0:04:13.680 Yeah. I mean, I think a lot to do with 0:04:13.680 --> 0:04:16.650 the legal system, if I'm honest. So you've got the 0:04:16.650 --> 0:04:20.969 estate agents, the front end and the Scottish property market 0:04:21.150 --> 0:04:24.539 is quicker. Mortgage lenders are bringing offers out within 10 0:04:24.540 --> 0:04:27.210 days, believe it or not. But in Scotland, we do 0:04:27.210 --> 0:04:29.730 have a bit of an advantage that when you have 0:04:29.790 --> 0:04:33.540 put an offering on your property and you sign missives 0:04:33.540 --> 0:04:38.940 is legally binding, whereas in England, you've got the Gazpin, somebody 0:04:38.940 --> 0:04:41.460 comes in and they 11th hour with cash, but in 0:04:41.460 --> 0:04:44.460 Scotland you're tied to it and then you're tied to signing those 0:04:44.460 --> 0:04:48.060 missives within a certain timeframe. So that really- 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:48.241 Speeds things up. 0:04:48.241 --> 0:04:49.140 ... it just speeds it up. 0:04:49.740 --> 0:04:51.810 You've also got the home report value as well, hasn't it? 0:04:51.810 --> 0:04:55.200 So that actually takes a cog out of the process, 0:04:55.529 --> 0:04:56.190 for want of a better word. 0:04:56.610 --> 0:04:59.880 Yeah, Phil, and that's actually upfront, our customers see that. 0:05:00.240 --> 0:05:02.490 So when you are putting your house on the market 0:05:02.490 --> 0:05:05.190 in Scotland, then you have to produce... And that's on 0:05:05.190 --> 0:05:07.830 the seller. They have to produce the home buying report. 0:05:08.430 --> 0:05:10.170 Which all lenders recognize. 0:05:10.200 --> 0:05:13.050 Yeah, all lenders recognize. And within that home buying report 0:05:13.050 --> 0:05:17.880 is the property valuation and that's what is produced to 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:20.339 the lender and that does speed up the process. 0:05:20.370 --> 0:05:20.880 Massively. 0:05:20.940 --> 0:05:21.300 Yep. 0:05:21.420 --> 0:05:25.050 There was another statistic of note, I thought. Compared to 0:05:25.050 --> 0:05:29.490 five years prior to 2020, the demand from buyers from 0:05:29.490 --> 0:05:34.620 outside of Scotland's risen by 63%. I mean, Scotland's having 0:05:34.620 --> 0:05:37.290 a wonderful time. What do we put that down to? 0:05:37.650 --> 0:05:40.560 So that again is such an interesting trend that we 0:05:40.560 --> 0:05:44.310 found in our data at Rightmove and the biggest group 0:05:44.430 --> 0:05:47.370 that are actually looking from outside Scotland to move into 0:05:47.370 --> 0:05:50.969 Scotland is coming from London and the Southeast, which are 0:05:50.970 --> 0:05:54.990 also the most expensive regions at the moment. So that's 0:05:54.990 --> 0:05:59.339 again, people looking for that affordability with increased flexibility with 0:05:59.339 --> 0:06:03.089 working, people able to work from home or hybrid working 0:06:03.300 --> 0:06:05.580 that gives them the ability to choose where they want 0:06:05.580 --> 0:06:08.820 to live. And certainly when I've been speaking to agents 0:06:08.820 --> 0:06:12.930 in Scotland, they're telling me they are seeing that trend continuing. 0:06:13.110 --> 0:06:16.680 But of course the hotspots, the obvious ones are Edinburgh 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:20.520 and Glasgow, but there are many other brilliant places to live that have 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:22.529 also been performing really well. 0:06:22.560 --> 0:06:26.880 Yeah. So Glasgow and Edinburgh are hotspots, but we've got the Central 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.870 Belt in Scotland. So you've got two corridors, you've got 0:06:30.930 --> 0:06:36.240 towards Glasgow, Falkirk, and then you've got towards Edinburgh, Fife, 0:06:36.480 --> 0:06:40.140 Kurkodi, and also in the Central Belt, we've got Motherwell, 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:44.580 Lanarkshire area. Now all these areas are within 45 minutes 0:06:44.580 --> 0:06:47.700 commute. So what we're finding is, like I said earlier, 0:06:48.240 --> 0:06:50.880 one client wants the hustle and bustle of city life, 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:54.089 Glasgow and Edinburgh, which is probably equivalent to London. And 0:06:54.089 --> 0:06:56.219 then we've got the other client that's looking for a 0:06:56.220 --> 0:07:00.029 wee bit more remote and more money at value for 0:07:00.029 --> 0:07:05.849 money and your typical Edinburgh property could be 250 grand for a two 0:07:05.850 --> 0:07:10.290 bedroom flat just for example. And out in Lanarkshire or indeed 0:07:10.500 --> 0:07:12.510 in Fife, you could be looking at a three bedroom 0:07:12.540 --> 0:07:16.410 property for about 170, 000. So there's a big difference 0:07:16.680 --> 0:07:20.700 and there's great commuting lines straight in and also with 0:07:20.700 --> 0:07:24.480 the hybrid working now and remote working, just what Colleen 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:29.370 said there, we're actually finding ourself, we can actually reach 0:07:29.370 --> 0:07:32.670 more employees to join us in first mortgage from south 0:07:32.670 --> 0:07:34.410 of the border as well because we can do remote 0:07:34.410 --> 0:07:36.960 working. So I can see that's happening in the property 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.510 market as well that people are thinking, let's move up 0:07:39.510 --> 0:07:39.990 to Scotland. 0:07:40.470 --> 0:07:42.450 So you're seeing that as a brokerage, a lot of 0:07:43.500 --> 0:07:44.941 your customers are moving from the south. 0:07:44.941 --> 0:07:49.320 So in our brokerage we have locations in Newcastle and Manchester. 0:07:49.650 --> 0:07:52.020 So they'll kind of tend to stay where they are, 0:07:52.020 --> 0:07:53.640 but we do see a lot of people that are 0:07:53.640 --> 0:07:56.520 maybe coming up to Edinburgh and they'll be moving from 0:07:56.790 --> 0:07:58.980 more so from Manchester. Actually we've seen a few of 0:07:58.980 --> 0:08:03.600 that moving into Edinburgh purely for work, but also they're 0:08:03.600 --> 0:08:06.090 moving just up a wee bit. I've not experienced it 0:08:06.090 --> 0:08:09.450 in London yet, but we have just opened a London 0:08:09.450 --> 0:08:10.800 branch so we might find that out. 0:08:11.580 --> 0:08:13.950 On the topic of work, I was interested to hear 0:08:13.950 --> 0:08:18.000 your thoughts on the Highlands. I read that Inverness was 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:21.540 Scotland's fastest growing city, which I presume was in terms 0:08:21.540 --> 0:08:25.470 of population, but would I be right in thinking that 0:08:25.470 --> 0:08:29.340 there is a lot of potential opportunity up there in the world 0:08:29.340 --> 0:08:31.650 of green energy and that as an industry is likely 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:34.320 to expand and there's going to be a lot more employment. 0:08:34.590 --> 0:08:38.190 Yeah, definitely. And we are actually new build experts as well 0:08:38.400 --> 0:08:41.309 and part of the new build growth in Scotland, again, 0:08:41.309 --> 0:08:44.339 different to the rest of the UK. There's a lot 0:08:44.340 --> 0:08:46.290 of new builds going to be happening in the next 0:08:46.290 --> 0:08:50.670 two years and Inverness and surrounding areas. So again, you 0:08:50.670 --> 0:08:54.510 still have that demand versus supply right now, but with 0:08:54.510 --> 0:08:58.140 the green energy and clean living, the jobs that that could 0:08:58.140 --> 0:09:01.319 create then hopefully with the new builds, the kind of 0:09:03.270 --> 0:09:04.080 speed of grains- 0:09:04.080 --> 0:09:05.521 And people have got somewhere to live. They need somewhere to live. 0:09:05.521 --> 0:09:05.521 Exactly. 0:09:05.521 --> 0:09:09.270 Yeah. I mean, I love Scotland and all of our programs are 0:09:09.270 --> 0:09:10.589 actually made in Scotland. 0:09:11.070 --> 0:09:11.400 Wow. 0:09:11.790 --> 0:09:14.640 Both production companies that I work with are based in 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:18.030 Glasgow. I love it as a country and I'd like 0:09:18.030 --> 0:09:19.770 to spend more time there. I'd like to do more 0:09:19.770 --> 0:09:23.880 work there. Our challenge from when we're firming location, rather 0:09:23.880 --> 0:09:27.090 than in the cities, it's particularly down that west coast 0:09:27.090 --> 0:09:29.490 or even getting up into the Highlands is there isn't 0:09:29.490 --> 0:09:32.580 enough properties for our research team to go and look 0:09:32.580 --> 0:09:36.630 at 25 or 30 so we can select three or four. 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:42.059 Yeah. And in Inverness in particular, it's quite a niche area. 0:09:44.280 --> 0:09:46.800 Yeah, there's not a lot of properties there at the 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:49.770 moment, but it is definitely getting built out. Yep. 0:09:50.160 --> 0:09:53.820 Well, that's perhaps where we've got the imbalance between supply 0:09:53.820 --> 0:09:58.290 and demand, and that is what is underpinning the activity in Scotland's market 0:09:59.070 --> 0:09:59.640 for the moment. 0:09:59.880 --> 0:10:01.590 Yes, certainly we can see that in the data for 0:10:01.590 --> 0:10:05.190 Inverness where there is a rise in the amount of 0:10:05.190 --> 0:10:08.790 demand year on year they're up 18% and yet listings 0:10:08.790 --> 0:10:12.929 are down. So there isn't the property available for the 0:10:12.929 --> 0:10:13.741 people who want to move there. 0:10:13.741 --> 0:10:18.090 Is there anything else you could add from Rightmove's perspective or 0:10:18.090 --> 0:10:21.480 things that you're spotting in the Scottish data? 0:10:22.410 --> 0:10:25.709 Absolutely. I think in terms of what we're seeing, it 0:10:25.710 --> 0:10:29.970 does mirror this whole affordability trend again. So in Edinburgh, 0:10:29.970 --> 0:10:32.850 which is one of the more expensive markets, the average 0:10:32.850 --> 0:10:37.980 price there is around 315, 000 and you see a 0:10:37.980 --> 0:10:41.370 little smidge of growth in house prices year on year 0:10:41.580 --> 0:10:45.720 from Edinburgh, but demand from buyers a little bit lower. 0:10:46.350 --> 0:10:49.290 When you go to Glasgow, you see that house price 0:10:49.290 --> 0:10:52.980 is coming down. The average price is cheaper in Glasgow, 0:10:52.980 --> 0:10:57.329 so it's around 197,000 on average there. So you get 0:10:57.330 --> 0:11:00.780 more for your money. I'm told a lot by agents 0:11:00.780 --> 0:11:04.860 from Glasgow that schools, the local authority schools are really 0:11:04.860 --> 0:11:06.960 great in Glasgow. So people tend to think of the 0:11:06.960 --> 0:11:10.710 school fees as being wrapped into their mortgage. It's a really 0:11:10.710 --> 0:11:13.920 big draw in that particular area, but again, demand a 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:18.240 little bit lower whereas actually Dundee where you're seeing lower 0:11:18.240 --> 0:11:23.790 prices on average, so 174,000 is getting stronger growth in 0:11:23.790 --> 0:11:27.030 terms of house prices and also in demand from buyers. 0:11:27.030 --> 0:11:31.380 So you're seeing that sort of wider trend around more affordable places, 0:11:31.770 --> 0:11:35.340 having better house price growth and more interest from buyers 0:11:35.340 --> 0:11:37.949 being mirrored within Scotland itself. 0:11:38.130 --> 0:11:39.751 How are things in Aberdeen? I always think that's quite a sort of transient place. Is that fair? 0:11:39.751 --> 0:11:46.950 Yeah. So again, we have branches in Aberdeen and the 0:11:46.950 --> 0:11:49.800 Aberdeen market kind of goes up and down with whatever's 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:52.260 going on with the oil. At the moment, I would 0:11:52.260 --> 0:11:55.320 say that's not flat, but it's just steady in Aberdeen just 0:11:55.320 --> 0:11:59.280 now. And again, pockets of more for first time buyers 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:02.910 looking for a one or two bedroom flat, they really 0:12:02.910 --> 0:12:07.320 are quite competitive. So if you want a three bedroom 0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:10.050 house, it's okay, but the one and two bedroom flats 0:12:10.050 --> 0:12:14.040 are the area where it's quite tough to get on the 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:17.010 market. Can I just add on the Dundee part? That is 0:12:17.429 --> 0:12:20.370 a big talking point actually. Again, we have a couple 0:12:20.370 --> 0:12:24.270 of branches in Dundee and one thing our customers are 0:12:24.270 --> 0:12:27.300 starting to look at is like you said, Colleen, the 0:12:27.300 --> 0:12:30.750 schooling, but also the universities. So Dundee University has been 0:12:30.750 --> 0:12:34.170 getting quite a big Kenny talking point and that does 0:12:34.170 --> 0:12:38.640 attract customers coming in. So if they were maybe going towards Fife 0:12:38.700 --> 0:12:41.520 or even into Edinburgh, they might just think, well, that's 0:12:41.520 --> 0:12:43.530 like an hour and a half commute away. We can 0:12:43.530 --> 0:12:46.020 kind of move a bit further out and get, again, 0:12:46.020 --> 0:12:46.980 more value for their money. 0:12:48.630 --> 0:12:52.110 Okay. Thank you. Good advice. Good to know. What's the situation with landlords in 0:12:52.110 --> 0:12:54.689 Scotland? Are they coming? Are they going? Where are we at? 0:12:55.140 --> 0:12:58.110 So landlord is one of the real areas of strength 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:00.331 with Scotland at the moment and that's- 0:13:00.331 --> 0:13:04.380 That wasn't the answer I was expecting. That's good. 0:13:04.440 --> 0:13:06.540 It is good. It's a great thing for the Scottish 0:13:06.540 --> 0:13:09.390 market. So one of the things we're seeing is we've 0:13:09.390 --> 0:13:13.650 got really strong yields happening in Scotland. So it's about 7. 0:13:13.679 --> 0:13:19.290 8% at the end of 2025 compared to 6.3% for the 0:13:19.290 --> 0:13:23.160 rest of the UK so much stronger return. You've also 0:13:23.160 --> 0:13:26.580 got stronger house price growth. So that means better capital 0:13:26.580 --> 0:13:30.450 growth for landlords as well and a lower entry point 0:13:30.900 --> 0:13:33.840 to get into buying property in Scotland. 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:35.040 What about taxes? 0:13:35.429 --> 0:13:39.870 So taxes are actually the highest in Scotland compared to 0:13:39.870 --> 0:13:42.660 the rest of the UK. So you have your land 0:13:42.660 --> 0:13:45.960 business and transaction tax, which is the Scottish equivalent of 0:13:45.960 --> 0:13:48.480 stamp duty and on top of that you have an 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.130 additional dwelling supplement of 8%. 0:13:51.210 --> 0:13:55.711 So that's a second home or any kind of buy to lead? 0:13:55.711 --> 0:13:55.861 Any property. 0:13:55.861 --> 0:13:56.760 8%. It's a big number. 0:13:57.870 --> 0:14:00.809 Yeah. So again, from our customer point of view as 0:14:00.809 --> 0:14:03.300 well that we have to make sure they understand that. 0:14:03.690 --> 0:14:05.910 So they've got any property in the background, whether it's a buy to let, 0:14:06.540 --> 0:14:09.480 a second home, a holiday home, anything they own, they're 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.720 going to have this additional dwelling tax. 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:15.000 But you're seeing buy to let customers now? 0:14:15.420 --> 0:14:18.300 For first mortgage we see some buy to let customers, 0:14:18.300 --> 0:14:20.550 but we are more into the first time buyer home 0:14:20.550 --> 0:14:23.520 moving market, but we do have some of our longstanding 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.370 customers who have decided to then go on and be 0:14:26.370 --> 0:14:29.430 a landlord and decide to let their property out. So we 0:14:29.430 --> 0:14:32.340 do see that, but the change in the additional dwelling 0:14:32.340 --> 0:14:36.210 tax does sometimes put some people off and they'll end 0:14:36.210 --> 0:14:38.610 up maybe selling it to their tenant that's actually living 0:14:38.610 --> 0:14:39.901 in it. We can see that as well. 0:14:39.901 --> 0:14:43.110 But as Colleen said, lower point of entry. 0:14:43.110 --> 0:14:43.950 Yeah, definitely. 0:14:45.420 --> 0:14:47.460 It makes it more accessible to a wider number of 0:14:47.460 --> 0:14:51.000 people. And if the yields are good and the general 0:14:51.000 --> 0:14:54.510 house prices is rising, then it's an attractive proposition. 0:14:54.570 --> 0:14:55.500 Definitely the yields increasing. 0:14:56.250 --> 0:14:59.100 And we've also talked about there isn't enough houses in 0:14:59.370 --> 0:15:01.920 certain parts of Scotland, given the amount of employment that is there or 0:15:03.510 --> 0:15:06.180 is coming. Let's just have a little moment to reflect 0:15:06.180 --> 0:15:11.610 on or compare Southern England to Scotland. I'd be interested in 0:15:11.610 --> 0:15:15.150 your thoughts as to why there is a contrast and what's 0:15:15.150 --> 0:15:15.690 driving it. 0:15:16.500 --> 0:15:19.680 There were really big differences between what happened over the 0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:24.600 course of 2025 in England versus in Scotland. And generally 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:27.150 speaking, if you plot out what happens with the property 0:15:27.150 --> 0:15:30.780 market on a line graph and nothing gets party started 0:15:30.780 --> 0:15:35.010 like a line graph, you see that really in England 0:15:35.040 --> 0:15:38.220 the highs are higher and the lows are lower, but 0:15:38.220 --> 0:15:41.490 actually in Scotland it's very much steady as she goes. 0:15:41.820 --> 0:15:45.960 It's reassuringly boring. That is absolutely a compliment, that is 0:15:45.960 --> 0:15:49.020 a great thing to have in a property market. People 0:15:49.020 --> 0:15:52.320 like certainty when they're making those decisions. And the reason 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.530 over 2025 that we saw those higher highs and lower 0:15:55.530 --> 0:15:59.340 lows is because we had a stamp duty holiday that 0:15:59.340 --> 0:16:02.520 came to an end at the end of March in 2025 0:16:03.330 --> 0:16:08.130 and particularly in the Southeastern London, buyers really kicked into 0:16:08.130 --> 0:16:12.090 gear at the end of 2024, beginning of 2025, really front 0:16:12.090 --> 0:16:15.870 loaded the year with activity. And then we saw a 0:16:15.870 --> 0:16:20.760 budget which came out late November, but we saw rumors 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:24.960 circulating as early as August and that made people really 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:28.650 uneasy about what was happening and we actually surveyed home 0:16:28.650 --> 0:16:31.050 movers and one in five said they actually put off 0:16:31.050 --> 0:16:34.620 their moving plans because of uncertainty around the budget. So 0:16:34.620 --> 0:16:37.410 we kind of had a year of two halves in 0:16:37.410 --> 0:16:40.650 England where you don't see that in Scotland. It was 0:16:40.650 --> 0:16:44.610 really steady. There wasn't a stamp duty holiday. There was 0:16:44.610 --> 0:16:47.340 a budget, which was in January of this year, but 0:16:47.340 --> 0:16:49.260 it was kind of at nothing to see here type 0:16:49.260 --> 0:16:53.100 of budget. So it didn't cause the kind of disruption 0:16:53.370 --> 0:16:54.720 that we saw in England. 0:16:54.870 --> 0:16:56.700 Yeah. Steady as she goes. I like that. 0:16:56.730 --> 0:16:56.731 Yeah, I like that. 0:16:56.731 --> 0:17:00.900 Good old Scotland. More of the same, please. 0:17:00.960 --> 0:17:01.980 Yeah, definitely. 0:17:02.190 --> 0:17:05.280 And there's also a really big difference in terms of 0:17:05.280 --> 0:17:09.930 supply and demand happening, particularly in the Southeastern London where 0:17:09.930 --> 0:17:13.440 we're seeing an 11 year high in the number of 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:17.640 available homes for sale and we're seeing softer demand from 0:17:17.640 --> 0:17:21.060 buyers in those areas as well, particularly when you're comparing 0:17:21.060 --> 0:17:24.810 to that really strong start to 2025 that we saw. 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:28.590 So it's really meaning that when you're selling a property 0:17:28.890 --> 0:17:32.040 in the south in particular, you have to be thinking 0:17:32.040 --> 0:17:35.400 really competitively about the price to find a buyer and 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.609 that's not happening in Scotland at the moment. There's a 0:17:38.609 --> 0:17:42.391 lot more demand, there's a lot more activity happening in Scotland. 0:17:42.391 --> 0:17:46.619 Yeah. And I'd actually say in Scotland, it's probably flipped that it's competitive 0:17:46.619 --> 0:17:49.440 as in how much over the home report can I 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:53.250 get from my property? And in areas like Edinburgh, at 0:17:53.250 --> 0:17:56.220 least in Edinburgh actually, that's probably one of our biggest 0:17:56.220 --> 0:18:00.900 hotspots outside the city center. They were still offers over 5%. 0:18:02.070 --> 0:18:04.950 You've got 10 people going for the same property and 0:18:04.950 --> 0:18:07.920 that's just kind of whips up that not, I wouldn't 0:18:07.920 --> 0:18:10.109 say a frenzy, but the demand is definitely there. 0:18:10.470 --> 0:18:13.200 It's fascinating, isn't it? I mean, it's what keeps us 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:16.170 all doing what we do because every month is different. 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:17.250 Yeah, it is. 0:18:17.580 --> 0:18:20.820 And the market is very polarized. So it frustrates me enormously 0:18:20.820 --> 0:18:24.180 when you read the headlines about the UK housing markets 0:18:24.180 --> 0:18:29.040 doing this. Well, that might be useful if you're an 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:32.910 economist deciding policy, but actually as an individual or a 0:18:32.910 --> 0:18:37.710 broker involved in a particular market, it's pretty relevant. You've 0:18:37.710 --> 0:18:38.401 got to understand your market and the things that drive it. 0:18:38.401 --> 0:18:44.700 Yeah, definitely. And actually what we say to any of our customers 0:18:44.700 --> 0:18:46.859 coming in, you always get asked the question, " Is now 0:18:47.040 --> 0:18:50.159 the time to buy?" And we always say, there's never a 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:52.290 right time to buy, but if it's your budget, your 0:18:52.290 --> 0:18:54.750 affordability, and where you want to stay, then go for 0:18:54.750 --> 0:18:58.440 it because you can never second guess the market because 0:18:58.440 --> 0:18:59.520 you just go for it. 0:18:59.790 --> 0:19:03.180 There's a lot more to it than just numbers. It's 0:19:03.180 --> 0:19:05.100 a roof over your head. It's your privacy. It's your 0:19:05.100 --> 0:19:08.310 sanctuary. It's your safety. It's where you have your loved 0:19:08.310 --> 0:19:09.301 ones and bring your children up. 0:19:09.301 --> 0:19:09.480 Yeah, definitely. 0:19:09.480 --> 0:19:12.300 And that's when it's time to do something, it's time 0:19:12.300 --> 0:19:16.470 to do something. Is there anything either of you would 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:19.590 imagine that brokers would find helpful? If they're listening to 0:19:19.590 --> 0:19:23.369 this, sat in their offices, what's going through their mind? 0:19:23.700 --> 0:19:25.649 Anything else that you'd like to add to them? 0:19:26.250 --> 0:19:30.090 For myself, being a broker myself, I would be saying 0:19:30.090 --> 0:19:33.690 to all brokers to get really early on the home 0:19:33.690 --> 0:19:36.990 buying process with their customers. I think now more than 0:19:36.990 --> 0:19:41.010 ever clients need advice, especially if they're trying to think 0:19:41.010 --> 0:19:43.740 about how to get on the property ladder, how to build a deposit, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:46.290 where can I live? If we can get to them 0:19:46.290 --> 0:19:49.590 before the step foot in the estate agent, we can 0:19:49.590 --> 0:19:51.960 really educate them. So that's probably my takeaway for any 0:19:51.960 --> 0:19:55.260 broker is get on that nurture journey early with your customers. 0:19:55.380 --> 0:19:56.640 Yeah. Stay in touch, build that relationship. 0:19:56.670 --> 0:19:57.570 Yeah, definitely. 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:00.030 Colleen, any thoughts from you on that one, brokers? 0:20:00.300 --> 0:20:02.040 Well, Lynne and I were having a chat before we 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:05.070 came in and we were talking about how in Scotland 0:20:05.070 --> 0:20:08.399 there's a slightly different system. So you have valuation in 0:20:08.400 --> 0:20:11.550 the home report and that's what lenders are using to 0:20:11.550 --> 0:20:14.939 lend on that amount. So if you are finding yourself 0:20:14.940 --> 0:20:17.430 in a bidding war, Lynne was talking about first time 0:20:17.430 --> 0:20:20.490 buyers, this is happening. We are seeing really strong demand 0:20:20.940 --> 0:20:25.470 from first time buyers in Scotland. It's up 4% compared to 0:20:25.470 --> 0:20:27.450 the rest of the UK, which is actually down by 0.4%. 0:20:28.170 --> 0:20:32.040 So a slightly different trend happening in Scotland. And if 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:36.840 you offer above the home report value the mortgage typically 0:20:36.840 --> 0:20:40.080 doesn't cover that so you've got to have the cash 0:20:40.140 --> 0:20:40.770 to cover it. 0:20:41.160 --> 0:20:43.320 But it's fairly standard, isn't it? I was in Edinburgh 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.709 about a month ago and standard was 10% over the 0:20:46.710 --> 0:20:47.520 home report value. 0:20:47.580 --> 0:20:50.699 That came down slightly now, but we're still around about 0:20:50.700 --> 0:20:53.879 5% over. The home buying report, but what Colleen is 0:20:53.879 --> 0:20:57.300 saying is correct. You have a first time buyer that's spent all 0:20:57.300 --> 0:21:00.000 their time building their deposit, then they're going to get 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:02.730 outbid and they can't add that onto the mortgage and 0:21:02.850 --> 0:21:05.580 it has to be additional cash. So it's back to 0:21:05.580 --> 0:21:07.740 the bank of mom and dad or whoever's helping them 0:21:08.100 --> 0:21:12.180 to actually be able to create enough funds to go 0:21:12.180 --> 0:21:14.520 on and buy that property. So that is a bit of 0:21:14.520 --> 0:21:17.310 a sticking point as well. It's creating the kind of 0:21:17.550 --> 0:21:20.130 perfect storm, if you like, really leaning into a seller's 0:21:20.130 --> 0:21:20.731 market just now in Scotland. 0:21:20.731 --> 0:21:24.780 And I guess, seeing as we have talked about the numbers of people 0:21:24.840 --> 0:21:28.889