The market remains dominated by Edinburgh, which accounts for 50% of overall sales. However, the West has been catching up, with Glasgow and the rest of the region accounting for 134 £1m plus sales last year, representing 26% of all sales and up by 39 sales on the previous year.

Simon Rettie, managing director at Rettie, said: “Most of the growth in the £1m plus market has been in Glasgow and the West, while sales in Edinburgh have fallen back by nearly 20%.

“This has been due to a combination of higher interest rates and buyer confidence, particularly in the super-prime market which we classify as houses over £2m. St Andrews and East Lothian continue to outperform the market with an increasing number of sales over £1m.

“For 2024, we forecast a gradual improvement in both buyer confidence and the rate of prime sales aligned with a drop in interest rates.”

Other key finding of Rettie’s £1m+ report are:

• The EH3 postcode in Edinburgh (which includes the New Town and West End) is the new number one location for £1m+ sales in Scotland, with 46 sales in 2023, with last year’s top district, EH10 (which includes Morningside) dropping to second spot.
• The £1m+ market in Scotland is concentrated, with 5 Edinburgh postcodes accounting for nearly 40% of all sales.
• From fewer than 30 £1m+ sales in 2017, prime property sales in Glasgow and the rest of the West of Scotland have surged to 134 in 2023.
• Continued growth in St Andrews, with the KY16 postcode continuing to be a strong performer as a £1m+ destination, with 21 sales in 2023.
• Top-10 postcodes in Scotland: EH3, EH10, EH9, EH4, EH12, KY16, G12, EH13, EH39, G77, G46, G61

Dr John Boyle, director of strategy and research at Rettie, said: “For the Scottish housing market as a whole, 2023 was a difficult year. However, the overall outcome was not as bad as some had initially feared at the end of 2022.

“In fact, the average house price was actually up 0.8% for 2023, although market transactions were down nearly 10%.

“What is clear, is that the prime £1m plus market withstood the market headwinds better than the overall market.”