Wealthy Americans are increasingly shopping for property in Scotland – lured in by historic homes and a proximity to world-renowned golf courses. According to British real estate firm Savills, US buyers now represent 4 percent of total transactions in the country – four times more than the 1 percent quota they held in 2019. Agents in the UK are reporting an uptick in interest from buyers across the pond – particularly for luxury properties at the top of the market.
According to experts, the demand in buyers picked up after the pound plunged last year to its weakest level on record, putting it on near parity with the US dollar. Ricardo Volpi, from realtor Knight Frank, said he has seen a steady stream of American buyers looking for historic homes in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.
Volpi told DailyMail.com: ‘We are finding that a number of Americans are buying properties in Edinburgh. ‘They are buying a lot of larger apartments and townhouses – which are typically anywhere north of £2 million ($2.5 million). ‘The demand has crept up slightly, at least with American buyers, with the strong dollar and the weak pound.’
According to Volpi, 40 percent of prime purchases in the city – sales exceeding $1.25 million – are buyers from outside Scotland. This includes Americans – and people from Europe and other parts of the UK. Around half of buyers are people who already own property abroad, while others are looking for a permanent residence in the city.
‘They usually have a connection to Scotland,’ Volpi explained. ‘Either they have family here or they’re from Scotland originally, or they want to come here to work or send their children to good schools.’ Edinburgh is famous for its Georgian-period homes, medieval city center, picturesque cobbled streets and world-renowned performing arts Fringe festival.
Volpi is an agent on one of the country’s most expensive listings – an eight-bedroom home dating back to the 1600s, which is on sale for $7.5 million. Another property on offer by Knight Frank is a five-bedroom townhouse in a prime Georgian street, which is on sale for almost $2.5 million.
Max Mills, head of residential sales in Edinburgh for property company Rettie, told Bloomberg how many clients pay cash – meaning they are not put off by high mortgage rates in the UK which hit a 15-year high earlier this year. And it is not just historic cities which are drawing people in, experts say.
According to Mills, Americans are also attracted to world-renowned golf courses including St Andrews and Gleneagles – and castles steeped in history. ‘Some well-connected Americans are already members of high-profile golf clubs in Scotland and are buying houses for when they can have time to start playing the links here more regularly,’ he said.
Even former president Donald Trump owns two golf courses in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire – although reports earlier this year said the resorts continue to make a loss following the pandemic. Jess Simpson, who runs a property firm in England which sells homes over £7 million ($8.7 million), told Bloomberg how her American clients are looking for trophy properties including ancient castles and estates.
She said she has observed a threefold increase in buyers from the US in the past year, including one who bought a house for £80 million ($99 million) when the pound was at its weakest. One historic home currently for sale is Dunbeath Castle, which is perched on a cliff above the North Sea and boasts 28,500 acres of land.
The earliest parts of the listed estate date back to the 15th century – and the property is currently on sale for over $30 million with Savills. The real estate company also has Towie Barclay Castle on its books – which dates back to 1400. It is currently under offer from an American buyer, according to Bloomberg.
Source: MAIL
