Scotland On The Rise
Detailed research conducted by JLL (Jones Lang LaSelle), the London based financial investment and professional firm, specialising in real estate and investment management, suggests Scotland is lined up for steady economic growth over the next 5 years. GDP is predicted to expand by 2% per annum, whilst at the same time, employment is expected to ramp up mostly through the financial and business services sectors, as well as transport, communications and construction sectors.
The number of households are also expected to increase, which is going to present some issues to the Government in terms of the supply meeting the demand.
So what are the details? Well, by the year 2020 the number of new households needing houses in Scotland is expected to rise by about 74,000, this equates to 15,000 new homes required in each year.
To break this down further – Edinburgh is expected to require an additional 15,100 households by 2020, whilst Glasgow requires an extra 10,400. It is Edinburgh and Glasgow that will demand the most new households, accounting for a combined 34.4% in Scotland.
The big question the Government faces right now is how to meet the demand, keeping in mind only 15,000 new homes are being built across the whole of Scotland right now. The Commission on Housing and Wellbeing has recommended 23,000 new homes are built each year until 2020.
The reason for Edinburgh and Glasgow requiring the most new households is linked to growth and employment rises, which these two cities will experience most in Scotland. Edinburgh and Glasgow are set for economic growth of 2.4% and 2.2% respectively. Even with the downturn in Scotland’s oil and gas sector, finance and business sectors are set for a big push.
In terms of employment, Scotland is to increase by 0.7 %, which means 18,000 jobs will be created between 2016 and 2020, this takes into account contractions in the public, manufacturing and utility sectors. Edinburgh is set for an employment increase of 3.6%, while Glasgow 2.4%. These increases are well above the Scottish national average.