Buoyant property market in Inverness sees rapid turnover, agents report
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A buoyant property market in Inverness is leading to a lack of stock amid a rapid turnover of houses, agents have reported.
It comes as homes are going up for sale and being sold within a week in the region, with many of them going above asking price.
The housing market is buoyant in the Highlands with a rapid turnover of properties, says Duncan Chisholm, sales manager for Munro and Noble in Inverness.
He said: “The turnover of properties in the area is very quick. Sometimes they sit but now they are turning around within a week.”
Figures for the Inverness area on Home.co.uk show that in April 2021, the average time for homes to sit on the market was 165 days compared to April 2022 with the average time for a house to sit now at 86 days.
“There is a stock problem which is dramatically different to other places like Aberdeen, where properties are struggling to sell,” Mr Chisholm explained.
Most houses are going above the asking price in general, but Mr Chisholm said that there is no rule of thumb when it comes to prices.
“It is exceptionally busy, which is good for business.”
Karine MacRae, director of Tailor Made Moves in Inverness has also found that they have a lack of stock, with them having their busiest year ever.
She said: “There is a lack of stock, and the ones we do have are going for silly money.
“We now get homes going for more than £50,000 over the valuation.”
She said this is making it hard for first-time buyers to get on the market, as they may get the money for a mortgage, but are having to pay extra as homes go so fast.
The Inverness housing market has been performing better than it did before lockdown with many people changing their habits of how they work and live.
Faisal Choudry, director of Residential Research in Scotland for Savills, said the Inverness market is doing better than it did before the pandemic.
“People want more space, amenities, services and employment opportunities,” he said. “People wanted to move to the country at the beginning of the pandemic, but now they want to come back to the cities.”
In the 12-month period of March 2021 to February 2022, there were 1960 sales of properties within the Inverness area with the average price for a house at £213,683.
In comparison, there were 1854 transactions in the last full year of sales pre-Covid in the period of March 2019 to February 2020 at an average price of £194, 333.
More new builds are also being sold in Inverness than they are typically across Scotland as a whole.
For just new builds in the Inverness area, within the period of March 2021 to February 2022 there were 429 sales at an average price of £253,083.
Mr Choudry said: “Twenty two per cent of house sales were new builds in this time period, compared to 13 per cent typically across Scotland.”
Tulloch Homes is one of the main developers of new builds in Inverness – and it has four developments under way in and around the area, with more in the pipeline.
Almost half of homebuyers from Tulloch Homes’ Inverness developments over the past five months have been from outwith the city, with lifestyle changes fuelling population growth.
Jo McLaren, sales and marketing director of Tulloch Homes, reports that demand remains exceptionally high.
She said: “A survey from January 2021 to the present time shows that 49 per cent of buyers came from outwith the IV postcode areas.
“This statistic underlines that the demand for quality housing in Inverness isn’t slowing down. More people are seeing this beautiful area as a relocation opportunity, with appealing lifestyle options.
“This growth in popularity is great for the local economy.”
Ms McLaren added: “We’re proud to have delivered great homes for the people of Inverness for generations – now we’re equally pleased to help new families put down roots in the area.”
