House sales in Scotland climbed to a record £24.3bn in 2025-26, the highest level since records began in 2003-04. The value of residential property sales rose 7% from the year before and was 45% higher than a decade ago, beating the previous peak of £23.2bn set in 2007-08.
The figures matter now because they show a market that is still growing even as the wider housing system strains to keep up. The median price of a residential property rose 4% to £198,000, up from £190,000 in 2024-25, while the number of homes sold increased only 4% over the decade, suggesting much of the market’s rise has been driven by higher prices rather than a surge in activity.
Glasgow stood out among Scotland’s eight cities, with the largest median price increase at 57% over the decade. Aberdeen was the only city where the median price fell, down 29%, underlining how uneven the recovery has been across the country. For buyers in Glasgow, the latest figures will only deepen the sense that local demand has run well ahead of what many households can comfortably absorb.
That pressure is showing up beyond the sales figures. New build residential sales rose 8% last year and their total market value increased 9%, while the median price of a new build home edged up to £317,995 from £310,000. But the supply side is moving more slowly: latest annual statistics for 2024-25 show 9,779 new homes were added to Scotland’s housing stock, 628 fewer than the year before.
That mismatch sits at the heart of Scotland’s housing problem. The government has already fallen behind schedule on its pledge to build 10,000 new affordable homes each year by 2032, after declaring a national housing emergency in 2024 amid shortages in social housing and rising property and rental costs. A median home price of £198,000 is also now about five times the average gross annual salary of £39,039, a gap that helps explain why record sales value has not eased the pressure most households feel.
The market is still expanding on paper, but the gap between record transactions and lagging supply is the real story. Until new homes start coming through faster, Scotland’s sales total may keep climbing for the wrong reason: not because housing is becoming easier to reach, but because it is getting more expensive to buy.
