Property investment stuck in doldrums

Scotland’s property investment market has been described as “fragile” following a third quarter of falling sales.

Analysis by the Scottish Property Federation (SPF) on the latest sales figures for the period from July to September shows that the total value of commercial property transactions declined for the third quarter in a row.

The figures, which were released by the Registers of Scotland, reveal that there were £693 million-worth of sales north of the Border during the period, down 12 per cent on the second quarter of 2017.

The number of sales also fell between the second and third quarters with 1,089 commercial property transactions taking place in the latest period, a fall of about 8 per cent.

Furthermore, the third quarter saw a downturn in the number of £5m-plus commercial properties sold in Scotland, with transactions at this level of the market at their lowest since the second quarter of 2014, the SPF noted.

David Melhuish, director of the SPF, said: “We have not seen three consecutive quarters of ‘negative growth’ in commercial real estate sales since 2012 and I think that it is a reminder of just how fragile our market is currently.

“While investment transactions appear to be slightly stronger than in the same quarter last year, the overall market remains subdued.

“We also need to get more commercial property of the right type and quality into our market and this is where the development process must be efficient and effective.” 0 David Melhuish – need property of the right quality