When people reached the stage of bringing up a family a generation ago they aspired to moving to the Scottish countryside, attracted by the comparative value for money, abundance of fresh air and exceptional quality of life in beautiful locations like The Highlands, Perthshire, The Borders and the West Coast. As a result, Scottish country homes gradually became relatively pricey and something of a status symbol.

Yet during the property market slump, while urban market values quickly readjusted and prices fell, the Scottish country homes sector was far slower to do so and as a result such properties became relatively overpriced, and therefore a less attractive option. Meanwhile, there was rapidly growing trend for urban living.

However, in the past couple of years we have begun to see the pendulum swing back. Savills research shows that country living is returning to fashion, with a rise in the number of sales in more rural areas. This has been driven by a readjustment of property values, but also by what are now firmly established trends such as wellbeing and working from home. 

People are undoubtedly looking to achieve a better work/life balance and before the current hiatus caused by the coronavirus we were seeing seen a real upswing in buyers with a range of criteria on their wish list, including fast broadband, green energy potential, sufficient land to grow produce, or a home with green energy and also income potential such as holiday lets.

We're now in the midst of a pandemic, of course, and there has been much in the press about the negative impact of city dwellers rushing to their second homes in the country or taking to the hills in their caravans to find cleaner air. This risks putting huge strain on local health services, local amenities like refuse collection as well further limiting local food availability. 

It is vitally important that we protect our most beautiful rural locations and support the people who live there. We are pleased that, for the time being, the door has closed on this particular trend due to Government restrictions. Rather, this is a long-term change in how people want to live their lives. Suddenly they have more time to think long and hard about what will be most important to them going forward.

Will they realise that working from home is possible and suits them well, and that maybe the daily commute is a less attractive option? Could more people working from home, and an upswing in the number of life-style businesses, bring increased vitality to Scottish rural areas, some of which have been in danger of becoming rather soulless commuter locations in recent years, bringing more footfall to village shops, pubs and growing numbers in local schools?

In recent weeks, being unable to see family, especially older relatives, has been a practical and emotional strain for many of us. Might we see a rise in multi-generational living as a result?

Certainly Savills website has seen a greater proportion of hits on Scotland’s picturesque ‘escapist', aspirational properties, beside water or in other beautiful, tranquil locations in recent days and weeks. It will be interesting to see how these trends play out when our world returns to normal.

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