Our director and head of our property division, Nicholas McVeigh-Crabbe, talks about how property recruitment in Scotland has changed in recent years. Read on to find out what’s happening in the industry…

The Scottish property market is riding high at the minute, due to a huge demand for new homes.

Confidence in the homebuilding industry took a hard hit after the 2008 recession, but with a reasonably stable economy and the introduction of help-to-buy financial schemes, there has been an overall increase in the number of homes being built throughout Scotland.

What’s changed?

One of the biggest changes over the last 10 years is the renewed confidence of home builders and developers, enabling them to create new housing developments.

The introduction of government-funded schemes that help new home buyers get on the property ladder has also been an enormous positive change. Because of this, there is now a bigger demand than ever for new home developments in Scotland. This is particularly true in Edinburgh and its surrounding commutable areas, where you can see a real mix of developments – social housing, first time buyer homes, family homes, flats and luxury developments, such as the former Donaldson’s School and the Quartermile.

Home builders such as Cala Homes are leading the market with brand recognition, and their growth mirrors that of the Scottish new homes market.

What does this mean for property recruitment in Scotland?

As the market expands, so does the need for new talent in the industry to keep up with demand.

We have found that new home sales positions in particularly high demand right now, with attitude taking precedence over experience for the right candidate. That’s why we have seen an influx of new people entering the sales side of the market from industries including retail, beauty and travel – each share the common attributes required to succeed in the property sales market such as initiative, strong work ethic and a positive attitude.

In construction, the industry is crying out for joiners, bricklayers, operators and skilled workers. Read more about the construction skills gap in our blog here.

Demand for roles can also vary by region. In Aberdeen, for example, it is notoriously hard to recruit, but this applies to any industry in the city. Edinburgh can be challenging for finding experienced sales staff, but at STAR we are investing a lot of time in building a strong list of potential recruits eager to start out in a property role in the capital. In contrast, Glasgow has always had strong recruitment potential because of its larger overall workforce.

Experience with property recruitment in Scotland

It’s an exciting time to be involved in the property market in Scotland. At STAR, we are well positioned to help our clients take advantage of the resurgence in the new homes market by tapping into our candidate database that spans a variety of complementary industries.

If you are you struggling to recruit the right team for your property business or if you are looking for your next role, get in touch – we’d love to help.