Scotland vs England: property performance ahead of the Calcutta Cup
With England and Scotland meeting in the Calcutta Cup this Saturday, a rugby union tradition that dates back to 1879, Knight Frank took the opportunity to study the property form of the nations coming into the clash.
12 March 2021
In Richmond upon Thames, the London borough that is home to England’s Twickenham Stadium, property transactions in the 12 months to September 2019 declined 7%. However, in Edinburgh, sales volumes over the same period were close to flat, showing a 0.5% decline.
Meanwhile, the average value of a home in Richmond declined 2.3% in 2019 while Edinburgh experienced growth of 2%.
“Average values in England have risen 45% in the last ten years while the increase in Scotland has been 15%, meaning the average house price in Scotland stands at £155,000, 62% below the figure of £251,000 in England,” said Chris Druce, an associate in Knight Frank’s residential research team.
“This discrepancy explains why residential values are currently growing at a faster pace in Scotland than England and underlines how affordability remains a key concern for UK buyers. While there has been a short-term bounce in many UK markets after the decisive general election result in December, the data illustrates how the UK market is regionalised and affordability constraints may continue to act as a brake on price inflation and liquidity.”
If we look at a country level, Scotland, the current holder of the Calcutta Cup, is the winner with transactions up 1.9% in the year to September 2019. Transactions in England fell by 6% in the same period.
Average property prices in Scotland in the 12 months to November 2019 were up 3.5% compared with the same period a year ago, while England saw average property prices increase by 1.7% in the same period.
