SCOTTISH countryside properties are an average of 11 per cent more expensive than those in urban areas, according to a new report.
Research from the Bank of Scotland (BoS) showed rural properties were £19,017 dearer and that they attracted fewer first-time buyers.
Its report said that between 2012 and 2017, the average price of a home in Scotland’s countryside areas rose by 17 per cent compared with an average increase of 27 per cent in urban parts.
That resulted in the premium that home owners pay for living in the country falling from 21 per cent (£27,354) in 2012 to 11 per cent (£19,017) in 2017.
However, over the past year both urban and rural areas have grown at the same rate – two per cent.
The Scottish countryside premium of 11 per cent compares more favourably to the rest of Britain (excluding London), with homebuyers paying a premium of more than £44,000 (20 per cent) to live in the British countryside.
The greatest rural premium is in the West Midlands, where buyers can expect to pay 47 per cent more, followed by North West, where the premium is 33 per cent.
According to BoS the most affordable rural local area district in Scotland is East Ayrshire with an average house price of £128,864 – 4.1 times the local average annual earnings of £31,322.
Dumfries and Galloway is the second most affordable rural district with an average house price of £135,313 – 4.6 times the average earnings of £29,662.
The Western Isles followed in third place with an average house price of £132,353 (4.8 per cent average earnings) and the Shetland Islands at five per cent. East Lothian is the least affordable rural local area district, in Scotland with average prices at 6.5 times local average earnings. Next is Perth and Kinross (5.9).
First-time buyers accounted for 44 per cent of all mortgage financed purchases in Scottish rural areas. This is lower than in urban areas where first-time buyers represent half (51 per cent) of such purchases.
Affordability is the key factor behind the lower level of first-time buyers in rural areas, said the bank.
Getting on the rural property ladder is at its most challenging for first-time buyers in Perth and Kinross, where they account for only 36 per cent of buyers, followed by East Lothian, the Borders and Argyll and Bute (all 38 per cent).
Graham Blair, mortgages director at Bank of Scotland, said: “The countryside continues to attract homeowners looking for open spaces, a cleaner environment and the prospect of a greater quality of life.
“However, this comes at a premium with rural property prices on average 11 per cent higher than in urban areas.
“Affordability is often a key driver in any decision to purchase a home, with some rural regions more affordable than certain urban locations, so there’s always an option for anyone considering an escape to the country.”
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