The 2022 Scottish Property Market - What Will Happen?

21 January 2022

Paul Hilton, ESPC’s CEO, looks ahead at what might happen to the Scottish property market in 2022.

Few could have predicted what would happen in 2021, like 2020, it was an unprecedented year for the property marked – in very different ways.

Post-lockdown, pent up demand meant activity levels boomed across the country, as buyers sought new homes that accommodated various changing requirements.

The 2021 housing market experienced exceptional levels of demand, unlike what we have seen in recent times – but what’s next after two unique years?

Here are some predictions:

The expectation is that demand will even out and we will begin to see what we saw in 2019 – that is to say, a healthy market that appears less frenzied than recent times, as we return, to what we hope is relatively normal, post-pandemic living.

Of course, this is assuming that there are no new Scottish Government interventions, such as Help to Buy or the suspension of the LBTT as we saw in 2021.

We also assume that we will only see ‘modest’ Bank of England interest rate rises in 2022, to damped the effects of inflation, however, the effects of this on the housing market remain to be seen.

Post-COP26, a push for greener homes is also expected, with the UK Government already announcing a legal requirement for all new-build properties in England to install electric car charging points in 2022. We shall wait to see if the Scottish Government will announce a similar scheme.