The growing appeal of living in the north east

Property consultancy Galbraith has witnessed a healthy start to the New Year, and 2020 looks set to be an exciting time in the Aberdeenshire property market as it bounces into action.

With green spaces aplenty and one of only a few UK cities to have a beach, Aberdeen is the perfect location for family living and professional couples alike.

The city is internationally renowned as the ‘oil capital of Europe’ and with this brings a large concentration of work in the oil and gas sector, yet only an hour away is the outstanding Cairngorms National Park in the heart of the Scottish Highlands.

It’s no surprise that the residential sales team in the Aberdeen office of Galbraith has been handling successful property sales, as favourable market conditions coupled with fantastic quality of living has offered great opportunities for those keen to move into or within the Aberdeenshire area.

The firm’s recent market report for the quarter ending 31 December 2019 showed a 40 per cent increase in sales being completed in Aberdeen compared to the same period a year ago, as well as 70 per cent more property viewings being conducted with prospective buyers.

The number of property market appraisals carried out by the Aberdeen office has increased by seven per cent on the previous quarter and is up 14 per cent year on year.

Hannah Christiansen, head of the estate agency team in Aberdeen, said: ‘Not only is Aberdeen well placed on a national level offering outstanding living and job prospects, it is also globally connected. The number of jobs created by the energy industry in and around Aberdeen has been estimated at half a million – this includes jobs in Scotland’s world-leading renewable energy sector.

‘Many other major industries in Aberdeen include everything from life sciences, where Aberdeen is home to world-leading research institutions, to food & drink, with the north east contributing 20 per cent of Scotland’s food & drink output.

‘If you are to consider the leisure and outdoor offerings in the area look no further than the Cairngorms National Park which has five of the UK’s six highest mountains and features huge forests, waterfalls and abundance of wildlife.

‘The region is also a hotbed of activity for such things as skiing, snowboarding and water sports. Aberdeen city boasts a large number of beautiful parks and gardens and the wider North East is also home to the world’s only castle trail, a draw for both visitors and local residents.’

Further boosting the appeal of living in Aberdeenshire, particularly for families, is the provision of top-quality educational institutions. There are around 250 schools spread out right across the region providing excellent primary, higher and further education options. There are two universities in Aberdeen – the ancient University of Aberdeen (founded in 1495), ranked as one of the 200 top universities in the world by the Times Higher Educational Supplement, and Robert Gordon University, a modern university now referred to as RGU, and offering pioneering courses including the UK’s first degree course in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

Hannah continued ‘We have witnessed a challenging property market in the North East over the last few years and we are confident that the market will improve well throughout this year after a positive start. Momentum in the first quarter of the year is starting to build greatly in the run up to the prime Spring selling period as the draw of living in Aberdeenshire is hard to ignore.

‘The property market has been through a turbulent period over the past three years with the Brexit effect having an impact on buyer and seller confidence, however people can now focus on the fantastic prospects that living in Aberdeenshire has to offer. And despite the recent challenging years, people have continued to move to the North East from all over the UK and worldwide to appreciate all that the area has to offer.’

Galbraith handles the sale of residential properties worth £51.7m on average per quarter across Scotland as a whole.

To find out more about Galbraith visit www.galbraithgroup.com 

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