The property market in Dumfries and Galloway has continued to attract high demand from lifestyle buyers with a third of all property sales last quarter (Q4, Oct – Dec) being smallholdings, reports Galbraith.

Smallholdings with land up to 50 acres continued to attract heightened demand from buyers keen to relocate to the area from the rest of the UK, with three quarters being from south of the Border and a quarter being from within Scotland. Demand outstripped supply in this market segment highlighting the draw of rural living in Dumfries and Galloway.

The team in Castle Douglas recorded a 16 per cent increase in the number of viewings conducted during the final three months of the year compared to the same quarter the previous year. Double the number of prospective buyers also registered with Galbraith in Castle Douglas over the same period, indicating a healthy appetite from buyers keen to make their next move.

David Corrie, head of residential sales for Galbraith, located in Castle Douglas, said: “It’s encouraging to witness healthy property sales and buyer activity in our final quarter of last year.  As we enter the busy Spring selling season, the market is indicating a good level of competition from lifestyle buyers who remain attracted to the area given the quality of properties available and the value for money property in the region offers compared with many other parts of the country.

“Dumfries and Galloway is a stunning part of Scotland to live with buyers being attracted to the great outdoors and beautiful coastal scenery, from The Mull of Galloway to Gretna Green and everywhere else in between. With beautiful views and numerous paths for walking, cycling and wildlife watching, as well as offering opportunities for sailing and a wide range of water sports, the region really does offer a fantastic work-life balance for families, especially with hybrid working here to stay.

“It’s no surprise that small holdings are in particularly high demand, offering a sizable portion of land to allow owners to be more sustainable and grow their own, as well as offering ample outdoor space for young kids and their four-legged friends. We have buyers registered with us and ready to make their next move so anyone thinking of selling should take advantage of the current competitive market conditions.”

Currently for sale through the Agency Team at Galbraith in Castle Douglas offering a combination of rural and coastal living:

Balgowan Farmhouse & Steading, Ardwell, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Offers Over £325,000

Balgowan Farmhouse (B-listed) and Steading sits in a slightly elevated position with uninterrupted views over the surrounding countryside, Luce Bay and the coast beyond. The striking curved architecture with conical roof to the front sets this property apart from more traditional farmhouses in the region. Balgowan Farmhouse provides a blank canvas in its current condition however, it has the potential to be a stunning country home sitting in 2.74 acres of land, surrounded by open farmland and within walking distance of the beach.

The Old Lifeboat Station, Auchencairn, Castle Douglas, Offers Over £850,000

The Old Lifeboat Station is an idyllic coastal retreat in a breathtaking location with its own slipway, direct access to the sea and panoramic views of Auchencairn Bay on the Solway Firth. The B-listed property is nestled among six acres of garden and woodland, home to an abundance of wildlife, including red squirrels. Established in 1884, the property was converted and extended by the current owners in the late 1990’s to create an award-winning four-bedroom house.

Balgowan Cottages, Ardwell, Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Offers Over £450,000

1 & 2 Balgowan Cottages offer a beach retreat with uninterrupted views over Luce Bay and a small paddock. Two semi-detached properties with a shared outbuilding, ‘The Bothy’, offering potential to convert the cottages in to one property, subject to relevant planning consent. The property is surrounded by open farmland with stunning views and numerous beaches close by.

Kirkeoch, Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, Offers Over £250,000

Former farmhouse Kirkeoch, sits west of Kirkcudbright and enjoys breathtaking views of the Dee Estuary. Kirkeoch represents an opportunity for a buyer to create a wonderful family home in a sought-after area.

·         Like-for-like PRS rental growth 8.4% YTD

·         Occupancy 97.2% (PRS)

·         Sales of regulated tenancy homes at prices 2.6% above valuations

·         Over 600 new homes delivering in H1

Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed provider of private rental homes with a c.£3.3bn operational portfolio of c.10,200 homes and a £1.6bn pipeline of a further 5,634 build-to-rent homes, today provides an update on trading for the four months to the end of January 2024, alongside its AGM which is being held today at its head office in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Company will announce its half year results for the six-month period ending 31 March 2024 on 16 May 2024.

Helen Gordon, Chief Executive of Grainger, said:

“Positive momentum continues within the business, underpinned by our market leading operating platform. We are maintaining strong levels of rental growth with like-for-like rents in our PRS/Build-to-rent portfolio growing 8.4%, while maintaining healthy customer affordability levels. Occupancy remains high at 97.2%. Our forward-looking key performance indicators show continued high levels of rental demand over the coming months, supporting occupancy.

“Sales from our legacy regulated tenancy portfolio continue to perform well with strong liquidity and pricing. The sales market is proving robust with a high proportion of our sales going to ‘best and final’ bids. On average, we are achieving sales prices 2.6% above valuations.

“Since our year end results in November, we have completed 307 homes at The Copper Works in Cardiff and continue with the phased delivery of homes at Weavers Yard in Newbury, with leasing in line with our underwriting assumptions. In the next month we will see two new build-to-rent schemes launching in Birmingham and Bristol totalling 606 homes.

“In line with our stated strategy, we are continuing to build on our geographic clusters of PRS (build-to-rent) developments which delivers operational and financial efficiencies, and we are on track with the delivery of our committed pipeline which will deliver significant growth in EPRA Earnings over the coming years.”

Strong rental performance continues

Robust sales performance

·       Whilst an increasingly smaller part of the business (c.23% by value), sales generated from our regulated tenancy portfolio as it unwinds (vacant possession) continue to provide a reliable source of capital for our continued growth.

·       We are seeing good levels of liquidity in the residential sales market.

·       We continue to see strong pricing, achieving average sales prices 2.6% ahead of valuations.

·       As our regulated tenancy portfolio reduces in size, we would naturally expect to see volumes of sales reduce. Last year, our portfolio reduced by c.14% (now £760m as at September 2023 valuations), whilst our PRS portfolio grows (£2.5bn).

·       As previously stated, we continue our elevated asset recycling activity, selling tenanted properties, portfolios and land to reinvest the capital into our build-to-rent pipeline and new higher-yielding opportunities. We expect to deliver similar proceeds from sales for the full year, including asset recycling, compared to last year.

Strong earnings growth momentum continues

·       Two new build-to-rent schemes in Birmingham and Bristol launching in March, totaling 606 homes.

·       The operational leverage inherent in our business model ensures that we remain on track to deliver significant growth in EPRA Earnings over the coming years.

Outlook

The strong, compelling fundamentals of the UK residential rental market continue to underpin our investment case. Demand for renting, and our product specifically, remains exceptionally high. We continue to achieve record levels of rental growth, and should wage growth ameliorate later this year, we expect rental growth to continue be higher than historic averages, driven by our market-leading operational platform. With local and national elections later this year, we are comfortable that political and regulatory risk for our business is low and that our responsible approach to delivering high quality rental homes for the mid-market is very much aligned to the main political parties’ priorities.