Famously known as the Granite City because of the sparkling stone that has formed its striking architecture, Aberdeen is the third largest city in Scotland with a population of over 227,000.
The port city has much to offer residents and visitors alike, situated on the beautiful East coast yet within reach of the Scottish countryside, and offering a vibrant cultural scene, packed year-round calendar of events, bustling shopping centres and a lively nightlife.
With a strong rental market, significant future investment set for the city and having recently been cited as one of the cheapest cities for first time buyers, we look at why Aberdeen could be a great place to buy property for living and investment.
It’s set for strong future investment
Although the city has seen a decline in its economy and property market following The North Sea Oil crash in 2014, Aberdeen and the North East are due to receive significant investment over the coming years due to region’s ability to drive the development of renewable and secure energy for the UK.
The Prime Minister recently announced (on 31st July) that the UK government will grant 100 new North Sea oil and gas licences, as well as support a carbon capture project (Acorn) in the North East, as part of its ambition to make Britain more energy independent.
The Acorn project is now one of four carbon capture usage and storage clusters in the UK, which are to receive up to £20 billion in government funding and could support up to 50,000 jobs in Britian by 2030.
Aberdeen has also been chosen as one of Scotland’s first two Investment Zones (the other being Glasgow) which will each benefit by an overall funding pot of £80 million in targeted investment, tax reliefs and other incentives over a five-year-period.
Investment Zones aim to boost the economy, stimulate business growth and create high-quality, well-paid jobs, and are focused around research institutions such as universities. They focus on driving growth in priority sectors such as technology, advanced manufacturing and the green sector, with the intention of boosting the UK’s competitiveness in these high-potential industries.
The city has also recently attracted significant overseas investment, with investment property firm BNP Paribas Real Estate completing the £20m sale of a 46,000-square-foot building, Equinor House, to an unnamed private overseas investor in 2022. The building is fully leased to Norwegian state-owned energy group Equinor until March 2032.
Demand for rental accommodation
Aberdeen is home to two universities, the University of Aberdeen and Robert Gordon University, which attract more than 25,000 students to the city.
Investment in developing student accommodation in the city is apparent, with a former Hilton hotel to be transformed into student flats offering 105 rooms, whilst plans were unveiled earlier this year by city-based firm Levelling Up Real Estate to build a 383-bedroom student accommodation building at a vacant site on Aberdeen's John Street.
Rental demand also extends from the city’s oil and gas industry, with many large oil and gas companies taking out long-term rental agreements to accommodate their staff that have to relocate to Aberdeen to work.
It’s one of the UK’s cheapest cities for first time buyers
Property website Rightmove published a study in June 2023 which revealed Aberdeen to be the third cheapest city in the UK (and the cheapest in Scotland) for first time buyers, with the average asking price of a first-time buyer home £106,088.
With properties in Aberdeen currently for sale from £35,000+, we have some keenly priced lots offering some great first-time buys or investment opportunities for developers looking to tap into this target market.
If you’re considering Aberdeen as a location for your next property investment or new home, take a look at our variety of lots currently for sale by auction or call our team on 0141 339 4466.
