If we cast our minds back to March, when the suggestion of a lockdown seemed like the storyline of a Hollywood blockbuster rather than a reality, housebuilding in Scotland was booming.
Despite the political and economic volatility that Brexit brought with it – there was a strong sense of cautious optimism within the housebuilding sector.
As the industry started, not only a new year but a new decade, it was pondering the main issues to define the next ten years of construction: how we leave the European Union, the Government’s investment to increase infrastructure, and, of course, the industry’s response to climate change.
Unfortunately all of this was on the backburner by March, when lockdown restrictions meant house moves and related activities could not go ahead unless deemed “reasonably necessary” and it quickly resulted in property sales volume and the number of homes coming to market dropping to very low levels during a traditionally busy spring period.
In terms of a recovery though, this specific industry seems to be making steady progress. In fact, since restrictions on the Scottish property market were relaxed at the end of June, we have seen a surge in activity with an unprecedented demand to buy and sell in Scotland.
I am in no doubt this is due to pent up demand as a result of lockdown and people re-evaluating their priorities, which has also been encouraged by the relaxation of the LBTT rules along with additional investment into the First Home Fund.
According to Registers of Scotland, this has caused the average house price in Scotland to increase by its largest annual amount since October 2018, with a 1.3 per cent jump in average selling price compared to last year.
So what are our Scottish homebuilders doing to keep this upward trend in motion? The answer, is quite a bit, and I am encouraged to see the fighting spirit and diversifications put in place to ensure they continue to meet the evolving needs of buyers.
Take Invertay Homes, a Dundee based homebuilder, for example, who set out to offer something different to buyers. Directors, Edward Wighton and Michael Pratt had ambitions to build high quality homes, that were 20 per cent larger than comparable new build homes in the area and for a cheaper price.
They based their business model on affordability, sustainability and efficiency – which has appealed to the post-Covid market perfectly.
And it’s not just me that’s recognised their fantastic work. In 2020 Invertay Homes were nominated within not one, not two, but seven categories of the prestigious Scottish Home Awards – more than any other homebuilder in the country.
I’ve been told that the future at Invertay is exciting, as it looks at ways on which to scale its business to double the number of homes it builds per annum over the next two years.
Adapting to the needs of its customers has also proven successful for luxury homebuilder CALA Homes in the West of Scotland, as it announced a first of its kind partnership with Livingston-based Urbanpods. Whether it’s a gym at the bottom of the garden or an office ideal for home working, the partnership was a perfect example of showing flexibility and giving your customers options that really help with what they are looking for.
I also noted in the press last week homebuilders, Ambassador Living, who are responsible for the prestigious new Park Quadrant Residences in Glasgow’s West End, pledging a £1,000 to Cash for Kids for every home reserved up until Christmas. A brilliant pay it forward scheme sure to hit the right chord with purchasers.
Interestingly, plans were put to the Scottish Government last week on the creation of a National Housebuilding Company (NHC) with the core remit to build an additional 10,000 new houses a year in Scotland for the next five years – something I plan to keep an eye on over the coming months.
In the current climate, it’s very difficult to predict exactly what will happen with the Scottish property market, however Peter Ryder, Managing Director of Thorntons Property Services, certainly believes that the start of 2021 will be busy as buyers try and beat the stamp duty holiday due to finish at the end of March.
Peter noted that: “There are record number of buyers out there according to recent data from the National Association of Estate Agents. This is backed up by Thorntons own figures where we now have in excess of 10,000 clients on our buyers list.”
These recent high levels of demand will hopefully ensure the market remains relatively steady as we say goodbye to 2020 and look out for the green shoots of 2021 as they start to appear.
It’s been a pretty grim year for charities missing out on their usual cash donations, especially during a year where the use and reliance on charitable organisations has increased.
Foodbanks in particular have seen usage spike, with The Trussell Trust predicting a 61 per cent increase in the need for food parcels over the winter months. It’s encouraging though to see that large supermarket chains are pitching in to address the problem, making it simple for shoppers to contribute.
Scottish airline Loganair has also been making a positive impact to the highlands and islands communities it serves by repurposing money saved from its in-flight catering to purchase both toiletries and food goods before donating to local foodbanks.
NSPCC Scotland have documented how the pandemic has affected some of the country’s most vulnerable young people this year. Sadly they’ve seen a huge rise in mental health problems, reporting that children as young as ten have been self-harming and experiencing suicidal thoughts.
The charity found that escalating financial hardship, combined with isolation from friends and family, generated the spike, with families in less affluent areas facing the toughest hardship.
I believe services provided by NSPCC Scotland have been a lifeline for many young people and although it’s harrowing to hear of the volume of young people struggling with mental health problems – it is encouraging that they are speaking up and sourcing the support they need.
Another Scottish organisation supporting vulnerable children is Kibble, who has unveiled state-of-the-art therapeutic houses for children who have experienced trauma. The new residential care houses are based in Lochwinnoch and are designed to reflect family-based living.
Kibble has taken inspiration from similar facilities overseas and it’s great to see this pioneering model of care come to Scotland.
As we get to this time of year, if you are in a position to do so, support charities who are making a difference to the lives of fellow Scots across the country.
It Made Me Laugh
I’m all for a novelty gift or flavour, it’s a great way for a brands to get noticed in a competitive market. However, businesses have gone daft for a Christmas theme this year.
So far we’ve seen McVitie’s Christmas pudding digestives, Sainsbury’s pigs in blankets noodles and Haribo Starmix with cherry trifle and eggnog flavour gums.
Mackie’s of Scotland has dabbled in festive flavours too, with turkey and cranberry ice cream as well as a gingerbread crumble being served at their Aberdeen parlour and Crieff Hydro Hotel.
Edinburgh distillery Pickering’s Gin has taken it to a new level though, creating a Brussels Sprout flavoured gin, and would you believe it, it’s sold out. The distiller has saved Christmas though by releasing a larger bottle option.
Festive flavours may just be the winning recipe for household brands this year.
It Made Me Weep
It’s no secret that the restrictions placed on businesses has impacted redundancy rates, but new figures from the Office for National Statistics illustrate the harsh reality in black and white.
Between August and October it was recorded that 370,000 people were made redundant across the UK surpassing the all-time record high of 317,000 published for May to July 2020.
However Scotland didn’t fare the worst as we actually recorded a rise in employment rates during the same period.
That being said, the number of people claiming benefits in Scotland has risen to 214,200 in November – a staggering rise of 87 per cent compared to November 2019.
It’s clear to see that the government and thriving businesses will need to focus on job creation next year in an attempt to rebalance the economy.
