Commuter towns are a popular choice for house buyers looking for easy access to the city but offering a quieter pace of life.

Buyers are also looking for a return on their investment so house prices are also key to where they choose.

And one town, overlooks the River Clyde and is just 40 minutes from Glasgow, ticks all the boxes. Carluke in south Lanarkshire has cemented its growing commuter town status with the news that it has seen the highest house price rises in Scotland.

The analysis from Zoopla shows that Carluke, which has direct train links to Glasgow and is home to more than 13,000 people, saw 82 per cent of homes rise in value by at least 1 per cent in the past 12 months. The average increase in the area was £8,900, reports the Scottish Daily Express.

Carluke’s house price rises are well above the total for Scotland overall. Figures showed 61% of homes increasing in value with an average increase of £3,200.

With a busy town centre, Carluke is also known as a friendly place to stay and boasts a strong sense of community, as well as a low crime rate, making it a great place to escape city life while retaining easy links to amenities and shops.

The news was not as positive for another popular Scottish town.

Inverurie in Aberdeenshire experienced the biggest average decrease in house prices in Scotland. With 65% of houses decreasing in value, the average price dropped by £4,200 despite Inverurie being a prosperous town in a well-loved part of the country.

Around 15 million properties in the UK increased in value by 1% or more last year, according to Zoopla, up from 10 million in 2023. Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: “The housing market returned to growth in 2024 but the pattern of home value changes across Britain is far from uniform.

“There is headroom for prices to increase in markets where housing is affordable compared to incomes, which covers many parts of northern England and Scotland. In contrast, affordability is more of a constraint on price rises in southern England, where the market continues to adjust to higher borrowing costs.

“Faster income growth is helping to repair affordability, supporting moving decisions in 2025.”

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