Ryden has published the latest edition of its highly respected Scottish Property Review this week. The report is recognised as a barometer of the wider Scottish economy, as well as the industry’s most in-depth and longest running study of the nation’s property market.
Commenting on the findings in the 79th Review, Dr Mark Robertson, editor of the publication, said:
“Scotland’s slow economic growth through 2015 and early 2016 was attributed mainly to the weakened oil and gas industry. The economy is still growing and the unemployment rate has fallen, but the UK vote to leave the European Union has led forecasters to dampen their expectations for growth through 2017 and 2018, as inflation increases and uncertainty acts as a drag on business investment.
“The property markets did react negatively to Brexit, although post-Summer there is some recovery in occupier markets. These continue to perform very differently by city and sector, as reported in the detailed market reviews. Uncertainty in the investment markets due to Brexit is confounded by the possibility of a second Scottish Independence Referendum.”
A summary for each of the Review’s key areas is below:
Economy
The Scottish economy slowed during 2015 and into 2016. Economic activity in Q2 2016 was 0.7% higher than in Q2 2015. During the second quarter of this year overall economic growth rose to 0.4%.
Planning
The much anticipated independent review of the Scottish planning system was published earlier this year. The inadequacy of infrastructure has long been a constraint to bringing forward major new development and the thrust of the recommendations set out in Ryden’s Planning for Infrastructure report for the Scottish Government were echoed through the independent review. The Scottish Government has already committed to a new Planning Act, however we won’t see their intentions by way of specific reforms until sometime in 2017.
Offices
Scotland’s city office markets remain divergent. Aberdeen is in a multi-year market adjustment while Edinburgh and Glasgow have weathered a difficult summer and face limited new-build development activity.
Industrial
Brexit contributed to what was a mixed summer for the Scottish industrial market. General enquiry levels and the number of significant new entrants were both lower than expected. However, a flow of transactions has continued and the long term effects are not yet apparent.
Retail & Leisure
High Street and out-of-town market activity continue to reduce retail vacancies. Most locations are improving or holding their own in comparison to our last report in April 2016, when net closures of one shop per week were being witnessed. Post-Brexit vote retail market indications are difficult to read at the moment.
Investment
The EU Referendum has dominated the commercial property investment market over the past six months and dampened activity. The prospect of a second Independence Referendum in Scotland could have serious consequences for the Scottish commercial property market, which prior to the EU Referendum had been enjoying a steady recovery.