The beautiful part of Britain where £1m still buys a grand period house and a swathe of unspoilt land

Despite a mixed picture in other parts of the country, the property market in the Scottish Borders has been quietly successful in recent years. The number of £1 million-plus property sales has increased sixfold between 2019 and 2024 — the caveat being that the numbers involved are small: up from only two in 2019 to 12 in 2024, according to a report commissioned by the Edinburgh-based buying agency Fyndd.

Nevertheless, Jamie McNeill, director at Fyndd, believes that the Borders has become one of the strongest growth stories in Scotland’s prime property market in recent years.

Value for money is a leading driver behind this interest, says selling agent James Denne, formerly of Knight Frank and now with GSC Grays, who has spent nearly 30 years working in the Borders. ‘You get a lot more bang for your buck here,’ he says. This is supported by the statistics: a £1m budget typically buys almost double the space compared with the Scottish average and about 80% more than in Edinburgh or East Lothian, according to figures from Fyndd.

A typical buyer profile of someone looking in the Borders tends to be made up of those leaving Edinburgh in search of more space for their growing families or those with links to the area who are returning home.

There is also some international demand. Mr McNeill is currently acting for American-based clients purchasing a small estate in the Borders, having compared options in East Lothian, Fife and Perthshire.

‘American interest in owning property in Scotland is growing and we’ve seen a corresponding rise in demand for prime Borders homes from across the Atlantic in the past six to 12 months,’ says Mr McNeill. ‘Many American buyers have children who wish to study in Scotland.’

Again, value has been a key driver. ‘Whereas a £2.5m budget might secure a 4,500sq ft house in North Berwick, the same price in the Borders buys closer to 20,000sq ft across a principal house and outbuildings.’

The other big draw is the quality of lifeon offer, adds Mr Denne, who has recently found buyers for two large properties, Allerly House and Friars Hall, both in the village of Gattonside, just outside Melrose. ‘There is a tremendous freedom you enjoy up here—particularly in terms of getting out and walking in the hills, not to mention all the sports on offer,' he says. 'You aren’t isolated in the middle of nowhere, you’re connected, but at the same time the Borders’ landscape offers so much scope for exploration and the pace of life is slower.’

What does this value for money look like? Take The Old Manse in Teviothead as an example. On the market at offers over £895,000 via GSC Grays, it is set in the heart of so-called Reiver Country, a reference to the time when some locals made their living by raiding cattle, goods and, at times, kidnapping during the prolonged wars between England and Scotland before peace was enforced in the early 17th century.

The property stands about 10 miles from Hawick and north of Teviot-head. A few yards from the house lies the grave of John Armstrong, otherwise known as Johnnie (Laird) of Gilnockie, an infamous Reiver whose rogueish image was romanticised in the works of Sir Walter Scott.

Enjoying a secluded setting on the banks of the Frostlie Burn, a tributary of the Teviot, and set in five acres, the house dates from 1844 and has three good-sized reception rooms, five bedrooms, plus a sixth that is being used as a study, as well as three bathrooms or shower rooms.

It makes for an ideal base for those wishing to take advantage of the wealth of recreational opportunities available in the Borders, including salmon and sea-trout fishing, riding, cycling, walking and golf.

See more property in the Scottish Borders.