Scottish farmland makes up large chunk of £1.3bn land sales in past three years

Farmland value in Scotland has increased by more than half, data has shown.

Scotland has sold more than £1.3 billion worth of land over the past three years, according to a report.

A large chunk of that (£472,670,400) has come from farmland sales, which has seen a value increase of more than 50 per cent.

Most land sales in this time period were of moderately sized farms or forests, with more than 93 per cent of transactions being for areas of land less than 500 hectares.

Scottish farmland makes up large chunk of overall land sales in Scotland in the last three years (pic: Caron Munro)

The figures were published in the Scottish Land Commission’s (SLC) Rural Land Market Report, which looks into the dynamics of rural land transactions in Scotland.

It comes ahead of the soon-to-be published Land Reform Bill, which is expected to drop in the coming weeks.

Hamish Trench, chief executive of the SLC, said: “While the volume of land coming to market has been relatively consistent over the past three years, the vast majority of sales are moderate-sized farms and forests, with very large land acquisitions much being rarer.”

The findings draw on data from the Registers of Scotland and the wider industry to evaluate the land market and property values across the country, focusing on farms, forests and estates.

Hamish Trench, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission (pic: SLC)

A total of 740 rural land sales took place over the three-year study period, of which 24 were for land over 1,000ha in size, and a further 27 for areas of between 500ha and 1,000ha.

Farmland made up nearly 60 per cent of total land sales. Eastern Scotland saw the highest concentration of deals, accounting for almost a third of national transactions while also having the top average prices per hectare at £17,535.

Forestry land had a more mixed ride, with prices peaking in 2021 before falling back again in 2022 – a move attributed to inflation and grant incentives no longer covering rising land costs. The report highlights challenges around what is considered an “estate” within the data, as a wide variety of transactions could fall into the category.

As a result, the report also notes a wide range in the sale prices of these “estates”, starting from as low as £60,000 and going up to £17.6 million over the three-year period.

Mr Trench said: “Through these reports, our commitment is to paint a clearer and more transparent picture of the rural land market, providing valuable insights to guide decisions on legal, policy, and practical changes.

"Transitioning towards a cadastral map system that consolidates information on land value, ownership, and use – a widely embraced approach in Europe – holds significant advantages. In the meantime, we will continue to work on how to make more of the existing data available.”