English investors attracted to buy north of the border, agency claims

The average rent across Scotland is now running at £573 per calendar month - but that figure hides wide variations in the country’s five regions.

Your Move’s rental market tracker finds that the latest figures - for October - show all regions flat or gently rising with the exception of the South of Scotland, where prices decreased 0.5 per cent month-on-month.

But one region - the Highlands & Islands - has seen dramatic annual growth of 14 per cent. Here the average property let for £698 in October. 

The agency says a new campus at the University of Highlands and Islands continues to attract people to the area. Similarly, Inverness Airport with low-cost airlines operating encourages travel both to and from the Highlands. 

“As such, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of English landlords buying in the area” says the area.

The next fastest growth came in the Glasgow and Clyde region. Prices here rose by 13 per cent in the year to October to reach an average of £613. 

In the heavily populated Edinburgh and Lothians region, prices now average £684 per calendar month following growth of 2.1 per cent in the past 12 months.

In the East of Scotland prices dropped by 1.7 per cent year-on-year to hit £529; this is the cheapest region to rent in Scotland. 

Finally, in the South of Scotland, prices fell faster - dropping 4.4 per cent annually - and are now £535 pcm.