This year has seen rural price growth and activity exceed that of the major cities.

In this week’s edition, we discuss:

This year has seen rural price growth and activity exceed that of the major cities particularly within Central region, where buyers can take their pick from picturesque villages, high-amenity towns, and prime, one-off country houses with or without land. Property hotspots such as Dunblane, Bridge of Allan, Crieff, Linlithgow, and Auchterarder, offer all the benefits for a rural and semi-rural lifestyle without being in any way remote and having to compromise. In fact, the Central belt of Scotland is so well connected it facilitates easy access to many major cities, from Stirling and Glasgow across to Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee, making the preferred dual lifestyle a viable alternative to city or suburban living.

Demand is one of the factors underpinning the arrival of a new Halliday Homes office in Auchterarder, which like those in Bridge of Allan and Linlithgow, offers property buyers and sellers an award-winning personal approach from an independent firm staffed by experts with local knowledge and expertise in their field. In small towns there is no-where to hide, which ensures we are always prepared to go the proverbial ‘extra mile’ for our clients in everything we do – and with specialists across the fields of estate agency, arranging mortgages, and letting, we think our comprehensive service and one-to-one personal approach is second to none. For that reason, we live by our pledge: to sell your home as if it belonged to us.

Hillpark House, Bridge of Allan – Offers Over £950,000

Built around 30 years ago, in 2012 Hillpark House was completely remodelled and refurbished by the present owners and local architect Bobby Halliday to such an extraordinary level it won the Best Building Award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects (Stirling Society of Architects) in the same year. The result is a visually arresting four/five-bedroomed family home with a long list of contemporary features, including an integrated Sonos sound system, hardwood and ceramic tiled flooring, and an impressive entrance hall dominated by a spiralling bespoke helical staircase with glass balustrades and a double-height glazed atrium.

The accommodation, which spans more than 4,000 sq ft configured over three levels, incorporates an entrance hall with internal access to an integral double garage and gym/WC – the living accommodation takes full advantage of the elevated setting on the first floor which includes an outstanding, wood-floored lower-level drawing room with stone fireplace/ Living Flame gas fire, and steps up to a spacious dining room open-plan to a high-end fitted kitchen with island breakfast bar and bi-fold doors that open onto a decked terrace and rear garden beyond. Off the kitchen and dining area, which also feature white floor tiles throughout, granite work surfaces and a full complement of high-tech integrated appliances, is a fully fitted utility with external access to the terrace. Completing the first-floor accommodation is a family room (or office/fifth bedroom) with double doors to the decked terrace, double bedroom with built-in storage, and a bathroom. The winding open-tread staircase continues up to the second-floor family bathroom and remaining bedrooms – the principal suite highlighting magnificent views over Stirling to the Touch Hills and access to a fully fitted dressing room and luxurious, fully-tiled en suite bathroom with twin basins, bath, and separate shower. Bedroom two also has fitted wardrobes and an en suite shower room, while the third bedroom has dual aspect views and fitted wardrobes.