The ‘Big Six’ research, which tracks residential development activity, prices and rents across Leeds, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow, showed that demand for city centre homes had risen for the first time since before the pandemic.

Glasgow has recorded the most significant annual increases in rents, with a shortage of new stock and higher specification new build rentals pushing average prices up by more than 20% in summer 2022 compared to the same period last year. That figure is 5% for Edinburgh over the same period.

On the new build front, the average price has risen by 6% over the past year in Edinburgh and 12% in Glasgow.

JLL’s research also shows that almost 100,000 city centre homes have been completed in the past five years across the six markets analysed.

Jason Hogg, director of residential and development land for JLL, based in Edinburgh, said: “While recent political and economic events have impacted investor demand, the fundamentals of our two largest cities is strong. There is an undersupply of new energy efficient homes but the popularity of Edinburgh and Glasgow due to being full of character, life and energy, shows no sign of abating.

“The upward trajectory of city centre living is extremely exciting but to maintain momentum, it’s essential we focus on meeting the requirements of occupiers and continually support the business and civic communities across Scotland.”

Marcus Dixon, director of UK residential research at JLL, added: “Forewarnings of the death of the city centre were wide of the mark. Our research shows that the UK’s big six regional cities are increasingly witnessing a return of students and young professionals which will fuel further development and wider economic growth.

“We anticipate this growth will continue as city centres become increasingly attractive places to live, work and study. What’s needed now is some economic and political stability to ensure businesses invest in that growth in the long run.”