The total value of commercial property transactions in Scotland fell for the third quarter in a row this year, according to analysis conducted by the Scottish Property Federation (SPF).

The latest commercial property sales figures for Q3 (July – September) 2017, which were released by the Registers of Scotland, show that there was just £693 million worth of sales in Scotland during the quarter, down 12% on Q2 2017.

The number of sales also dipped between Q2 2017 and Q3 2017 with 1,089 commercial property sales in Scotland, down 8% (101 sales).

Furthermore, Q3 2017 saw a big drop in the number of £5m+ commercial properties sold in Scotland, with transactions at this level of the market at their lowest since Q2 2014. There were 22 commercial properties sold at the £5m+ level, securing a total value £332m. This figure is significantly down on the previous quarter (Q2 2017), which saw 32 sales with a combined total of £385m.

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.

“With Edinburgh and Glasgow among key locations experiencing high levels of business occupancy we must deliver new commercial property to meet demand.”

Despite the declining figures, property information provider, Costar UK, reported a slight improvement in investment volumes. £416m was invested across all commercial property sectors in Q3 2017, bringing the investment total for the first three quarters of 2017 to £1.57 billion.

The full report can be found here.