According to insight from Sharia-compliant digital bank Nomo, the country has become attractive to buyers from the region due to its strong price growth and resilience.
Halifax’s house price index for January showed that Scotland had the strongest price growth of any mainland UK region, with prices rising 5.4% annually to an average of £221,711.
Search data sourced from Rightmove showed that in Q4, Scotland accounted for 18% of all UK property searches from GCC residents, and consistently ranked among the top three UK regions of interest.
Nomo found that in April last year, Scotland also matched London as the joint-most searched region, each accounting for 23% of searches by GCC residents.
The lender said that since it began tracking trends at the end of 2024, Scotland has consistently remained among the top three in-demand regions for overseas buyers.
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The majority of this came from the UAE, making up 60% of all GCC searches.
This was followed by Saudi Arabia, making up 29% of searches.
Edinburgh and Glasgow came out as the most sought-after destinations, representing 18% and 14% of Scottish GCC searches respectively.
Nomo said the cities attracted interest due to employment opportunities, education, tourism and culture.
Other Scottish locations in demand included South Lanarkshire and Stirling, due to employment and the student populations.
Emma Bilan, head of property finance at Nomo, said: “The data shows a clear affinity between GCC residents and Scottish property, particularly across Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“Scotland’s housing market continues to be supported by strong fundamentals – from steady price growth to diverse buyer demand. This is a key reason why we’ve expanded to Scotland and the response from brokers has already been strong. Whether it’s a new build in Inverness or a Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh, we’re already seeing solid case volumes and expect demand to grow further in the coming months.”
Earlier this year, Nomo extended its lending to international clients buying property in Scotland.
