Scottish Property Federation (SPF) analysis of data from the second quarter of this year has shown that commercial property sales values in Glasgow surpassed those of Edinburgh for the first time since 2015.
The total value of sales in Scotland continued to fall to £614 million, the lowest in five years. But the number of transactions increased, indicating a decrease in higher value transactions rather than a lack of activity.
Glasgow bucked the national trend with the total value of commercial property sales rising against both the previous quarter and the same quarter in 2018. Sales in Glasgow totalled £172 million for Q2, accounting for 28% of Scotland’s total commercial property sales.
At £108 million, Edinburgh’s sales values decreased by £156 million on the previous quarter and £14 million on Q2 2018. The proportion of Scottish commercial property sales located in Edinburgh fell from 35% in the previous quarter to just 18% for Q2 2019.
SPF director David Melhuish said: “Glasgow was very impressive this quarter, outperforming Edinburgh for the first time in four years against a wider Scottish market that saw a reduced value of sales activity.
“Glasgow’s sales increase was fuelled by a number of £5m-plus deals, totalling £129 million, whereas Edinburgh only secured £33 million in the same category.
“A notable feature of Scottish commercial property investment in the Q2 period was the rise of capital sourced from Asia, which topped £250m for the first time on record, according to CoStar data.
“Ryden reported a standout £48 million transaction for a Korean client of Knight Frank Investment Management.”
