As we are now half way through 2025, it’s certain the Fife housing market has been more restrained than the post pandemic 24 months of the summer of 2020 through to July/August of 2022, and I believe that the ‘steady as she goes’ outlook will continue into the rest of 2025 and beyond.

As I always say in my Fife property market updates, home ownership is a medium to long-term investment, so I feel it’s always important to measure what has happened to Fife house prices over those medium to long terms.

Since the summer of 2005 the average Fife homeowner has seen their property’s value rise by an average of 104%.

This is significant as house prices are a national fascination and sub-consciously tied into the perceived health of the UK economy. Most of that 104% gain has come from the overall growth in all Fife property values, while some of it will have come about by modernising, extending or developing their Fife home.

Analysing the different types of property in Fife and the profit made by each type, it makes interesting reading:

• Overall Average for All Homes in Fife. The average price paid for all homes in Fife in 2005 was £83,844. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £168,600. This is a total profit of £84,756 (which is £4,238 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 5.2% per year).

• Apartments in Fife. The average price paid for apartments in Fife in 2005 was £60,335. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £104,986. This is a total profit of £44,651 (which is £2,233 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 3.8% per year).

• Terraced/Town Houses in Fife. The average price paid for all town house/terraced houses in Fife in 2005 was £70,608. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £150,922. This is a total profit of £80,314 (which is £4,016 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 5.7% per year).

• Semi-Detached Homes in Fife. The average price paid of all semi-detached homes in Fife in 2005 was £92,501. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £191,849. This is a total profit of £99,348 (which is £4,967 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 5.4% per year).

• Detached Homes in Fife. The average price paid of all detached homes in Fife in 2005 was £165,630. Now it’s 2025, and it has risen to £327,258. This is a total profit of £161,628 (which is £8,081 profit per year per home or an annual growth of 4.9% per year).

However, we can’t forget there has been 77% inflation over those 20 years, which eats into the ‘real’ value (or true spending power of that profit) … so if we consider inflation since 2005, the true ‘spending power’ of that profit has been lower.

Overall Average for All Homes in Fife. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Fife home is £47,831 for the last 20 years. This equates to £2,392 ‘real’ profit per annum.

Apartments in Fife. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Fife apartment is £25,198 for the last 20 years. This equates to £1,260 ‘real’ profit per annum.

Terraced/Town Houses in Fife. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Fife town house/terraced home is £45,324 for the last 20 years. This equates to £2,266 ‘real’ profit per annum.

Semi-Detached Homes in Fife. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been deducted) for the average Fife semi-detached home is £56,065 for the last 20 years. This equates to £2,803 ‘real’ profit per annum.

Detached Homes in Fife. The total ‘real profit’ (i.e. after inflation has been removed) for the average Fife detached home is £91,212 for the last 20 years. This equates to £4,561 ‘real’ profit per annum.

Therefore, the profit for an average Fife home over the last two decades, adjusted for inflation, stands at £2,392 per year.

I wanted to show you that despite the 2008/09 Credit Crunch property market crash, which saw Fife property values plummet by 16% to 19% over 18 months, Fife homeowners have still fared better over the long term than those renting.

Looking ahead, a common question I get asked is about the future direction of the Fife property market.

The main influence on maintaining house price growth in Fife over the medium to long term will be the construction of new homes (on the supply side) and employment and interest rates (on the demand side). Although we have yet to get the official figures for 2024, independent sources indicate that the number of new households is expected to be around 217,900. Bearing in mind the annual need is for 300,000 new UK households – to meet demands arising from factors such as increased life expectancy, immigration, and later cohabitation – it’s clear that demand will continue to exceed supply unless the government heavily builds council houses.

This can only be good news for Fife homeowners.

What about Fife landlords, though?

Even though the quantity of landlords selling up their rental portfolios has increased in the last couple of years and the number of landlords purchasing buy-to-let properties is lower than in the last couple of decades, there is still margin net growth in the size of the private rented sector each year. This is all notwithstanding landlords facing higher taxes. The fact is many Fife landlords continue to be keen on expanding their rental portfolios in the medium to long term.

Many of the 20 and 30 something’s of Fife view renting as a choice that offers flexibility and options that homeownership does not provide. This means that demand for rentals will keep rising, allowing landlords to enjoy capital appreciation and rising rents. However, Fife buy-to-let landlords must accept more considerate strategies to maintain profitable returns from their investments.

As a Fife buy-to-let landlord, the issue for you is how to ensure this growth continues.

Up until 2017, generating profits from buy-to-let property investments was like falling off a log. Since then, with changes in legislation and taxation, the balance of power, achieving similar returns will be more effortful. Over the past 8 years, I have observed the evolution of agents from mere rent collectors to tactical rental portfolio managers. I, along with a select number of agents in Fife, am skilful at providing strategic and comprehensive portfolio leadership. This service offers a structured overview of your investment goals across short, medium and long-term horizons, focusing on your expected returns, yields and capital growth. If you seek such advice, feel free to contact your current agent or me directly at no cost or obligation.