Scotland has overtaken London as the fastest-moving market for million-pound properties - with homes being snapped up 25 days quicker than average.

New data from Rightmove shows that £1million houses in Scotland stay on the market for around 61 days on average, beating London by a total of six days.

The analysis looked at the year before the pandemic with the year since the market re-opened to measure current prime market behaviour against pre-pandemic levels.

The Scottish million-pound market has proven to be resilient in the face of the pandemic with demand leading to price rises and fast-moving sales.

The market is particularly strong in the east of the country, with Edinburgh alone accounting for well over half of all Scotland's £1million sales.

Over the past year million pound homes have taken an average of 67 days in London to find a buyer, shifting the UK capital from being the fastest-selling region into fifth position, behind Scotland, East of England, South East and the East Midlands.

The numbers also reveal London has seen a drop in its overall share of the total million-pound sales market, with 40% of million pound sales now taking place in the capital, compared with 47% before the pandemic.

The data suggests London’s overall influence on the prime market has dropped slightly, likely driven by buyers prioritising more space when choosing their property.

Across the UK, the increase in the number of million pounds homes that are selling is up 80% on pre-pandemic levels, compared with an overall increase across all property sales of 37%.

Dr John Boyle, director at Rettie & Co in Scotland said: “The Scottish £1m market has proven to be resilient in the face of the pandemic.

"Just like the wider housing market here, demand has been moving well ahead of supply, leading to price rises and fast-moving sales.

"The market is particularly strong in the east of the country, with Edinburgh alone accounting for well over half of all Scottish £1m sales.

"However, other areas are seeing rising £1m sales, particularly in outlying areas of the wider Lothians market, with sales outside Edinburgh notably higher in the east compared with recent years.”

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of Property Data, said: “Prime sales growth has outperformed the wider market over the past year, as many people across Great Britain have chosen to take a step up the property ladder, potentially moving further out to afford a bigger property, or finally making the move to their forever home.

"Whilst London is still home to a significant portion of the prime market, some millionaire movers have turned their city commute into a rural route.

"These dynamics have helped push swathes of the UK’s property stock into the higher price brackets, and have led to a broader geographical spread of million-pound properties.”

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