Rural housing set for rise

A significant rise in the price of housing in rural areas looks set to be on the cards in Scotland.

“If Scotland follows the trend in England of an increase in the value of rural property, farmhouses and cottages will see an uplift later this year and we could see huge increases in the price of cottages in some parts of Scotland,” said Charles Dudgeon of Savills.

And, according to Martin Long, associate director, Bell Ingram, there is very strong interest in traditional stone-built properties, ideally with 10-15 acres of land.

Bell Ingram recently sold such a property overlooking the Dornoch Firth that generated a huge amount of interest, with about 60 people viewing the property.

Chris Hall of Rettie & Co said the value of farm cottages had increased by 100% in the past five years.

“This has been underpinned by the continued increase in residential values.

Most East Lothian farmhouses are worth £0.5m and we have recently sold a number for over £1m.

There are very few farm cottages in good condition in central Scotland worth less than £100,000.”