DJ Alexander revealed these figures based on the latest statistics on Land and Building Transaction Tax (LBTT).

Between May 2022 and April 2023, second home buyers paid £179.1 million via the additional dwelling supplement (ADS), accounting for 27.9% of the total £642.4m tax collected in the year.

Notably, March and April witnessed the highest ever amounts of ADS collected since its inception in April 2016. In March, ADS stood at £17.8m, making up 37.5% of the residential LBTT that month, and in April, it totalled £17.3m, constituting 37.1% of the total tax revenue.

David Alexander, chief executive of DJ Alexander Ltd, said: “These figures are remarkable and indicate that landlords and second homeowners regard Scotland as an attractive place to invest in.

“While these figures relate to both investors and those wanting to own another home my suspicion is that the majority of these buyers are landlords who rightly recognise that Scotland is an area with enormous demand for property rentals and extremely limited supply. The result of this over the last ten months or so has been the largest rent rises in the UK.

“Given that the last two months have seen the highest ever amount of additional dwelling supplement it is a surprise that the increased rate of this tax from 4% to 6% does not seem to have had a dampening effect on the market. I am sure that this is because demand in the private rented sector (PRS) is at a record level.”

Mr Alexander concluded: “I believe that landlords and investors can continue to produce a good return from the PRS as people want to live in Scotland.

“In particular, they want to rent in Edinburgh and Glasgow which have seen enormous levels of demand over the last few years, and I believe that this is likely to continue for some considerable time to come.”