How Much Can You Actually Charge? Borders Rent Benchmarks 2026
How Much Can You Actually Charge? Borders Rent Benchmarks 2026
Every landlord Googles "average rent [town]" at least once a year. The answers are usually stale, national, or built from a handful of listings. This is our attempt at something better: a Borders-specific rent benchmark updated every three months, showing median asking rents for 1, 2, and 3-bed properties across 20 towns.
Data last refreshed: TBD. Next scheduled refresh: TBD. If you're reading this in preview, the table below is a placeholder for the live benchmark data the table-update job will populate.
The data
| Town | 1-bed median | 2-bed median | 3-bed median | Sample size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galashiels | — | — | — | — |
| Hawick | — | — | — | — |
| Kelso | — | — | — | — |
| Melrose | — | — | — | — |
| Peebles | — | — | — | — |
| Jedburgh | — | — | — | — |
| Selkirk | — | — | — | — |
| Innerleithen | — | — | — | — |
| Coldstream | — | — | — | — |
| Eyemouth | — | — | — | — |
| Duns | — | — | — | — |
| Lauder | — | — | — | — |
| Earlston | — | — | — | — |
| St Boswells | — | — | — | — |
| Newtown St Boswells | — | — | — | — |
| Tweedbank | — | — | — | — |
| Stow | — | — | — | — |
| Walkerburn | — | — | — | — |
| West Linton | — | — | — | — |
| Chirnside | — | — | — | — |
Methodology
Figures are median monthly asking rents from live listings across three sources: this portal's own stock, Citylets, and Rightmove (filtered to TD, EH44, EH45, and EH46 postcodes). Sample size counts the number of active listings used to compute the median for each row. Where fewer than five listings were available, we mark the cell as low-confidence rather than publishing a thin average.
Refresh cadence: quarterly. The article's "Last updated" line reflects the most recent pull.
Commentary on the five most active towns
Galashiels
The largest rental market in the Borders. Churn is faster than anywhere else, so the median moves relatively quickly. Recent months have seen upward pressure, driven by the Borders Railway commuter effect. Flats within ten minutes' walk of the station consistently command the top of the distribution.
Kelso
Steadier than Galashiels — fewer listings and slower turnover. Kelso rents have been edging up with the Center Parcs supply-chain effect, particularly for family homes with gardens. The top end of 3-bed demand is stronger than the equivalent in Hawick or Selkirk.
Peebles
Consistently the most expensive Borders town for tenants and the one nearest to Edinburgh. Remote-worker demand keeps pricing robust. 1-bed listings are rare; most stock is 2- or 3-bed family property.
Melrose
Small rental market, always tight. Listings let fast. The Tweedbank rail connection means Melrose effectively competes with Peebles for the Edinburgh-commuter pound. Turnover is low and the median sits between Peebles and Kelso.
Hawick
The highest-volume market for 1- and 2-bed flats. Recent data shows the first meaningful upward move in years, coinciding with the Center Parcs construction ramp-up. Contractor-targeted furnished lets are achieving a clear premium over unfurnished equivalents.
The regulatory context
From 1 April 2026, Scottish local authorities have expanded powers to collect rental data from landlords to inform the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 rent control framework. What you ask for publicly is, in effect, data the local authority can now gather and analyse. Our Housing Act explainer covers this in full.
How to set your asking rent
- Anchor to the median for your town and bed count, then adjust for condition, location, and inclusions. A well-finished property with parking and modern heating can justifiably sit 8–15% above median.
- Test-list at a premium, then reduce. If you get fewer than three viewing enquiries in the first 7–10 days, drop by 5%.
- Specific words pull more enquiries. "Modern," "log burner," "garden," and "EV charging" all correlate with above-average engagement in our listing analytics.
- Furnished, bills-included lets can sustainably add 15–25% on top — but only where there is genuine demand (Hawick/Selkirk during construction; near universities elsewhere).
Want to see how your property performs against the live market? List it on Rent in the Borders — free for landlords and agents — and you'll see real comparable listings the moment you go live.