Scottish house prices set to rise by three per cent in 2025

Oct 31

2 min read

Property firm Rettie is forecasting that Scottish house prices are set to rise by three per cent in 2025, with modestly improving economic conditions underpinning limited growth for the full year.

On a 12-month rolling basis, the average house price in Glasgow has continued to outpace Scotland’s main cities, growing by over five per cent to nearly £218,000. Edinburgh and Dundee have both grown by one per cent. However, the average house price in Edinburgh (around £338,000) continues to surpass other areas.

Rettie is also forecasting an increase of five per cent in transaction levels during the year, on the back of mortgage-rate reductions and government intervention.

New-build transactions have risen in 2025 for the first time since 2022, but market activity remains low in historical terms as the sector continues to struggle with rising costs and fewer land opportunities. So far in 2025, new-build sales account for 10 per cent of all Scottish house sales, well below the historical share of around 15 per cent.

Availability has increased in the private-rental sector, moderating rent rises. However, Rettie anticipates that Scotland’s new Housing Bill will push landlords to raise rents within existing tenancies to market value over the next two years. The average advertised rent in Scotland currently stands at £1,250 per calendar month, representing the highest average on record.

In Scotland’s largest cities, rental supply has rebounded in the first half of 2025. Glasgow’s rental stock has completed a full recovery after suffering significant reductions in listings between 2021 and 2024. The count of rental listings in Edinburgh (as at Q2 2025) is still more than 2,000 properties below 2020 levels, equating to a decrease of approximately 20 per cent.

Dr John Boyle, director of strategy and research at Rettie, said:

“As we forecast at the start of 2025, the Scottish housing market has moved at a steady pace this year, with only modest uplifts in the key market metrics.

“The market remains in a delicate condition given that interest rates and mortgage rates remain high in a recent historical context and economic growth is limited.

The new-build sales market has shown some improvement but is well down on pre-2022 levels. The rental market has cooled after substantial growth in rents and the increase in rental availability is a positive, but we are yet to see the full impacts of the new Housing Bill.”

www.rettie.co.uk