Neither the hiatus surrounding Brexit, nor the prospect of an Independent Scotland is failing to dissuade buyers from their ambition to enjoy a little piece of rural Scotland. Now, more than ever is the Scottish estates market showing its resilience and flexibility.

A new style of buyer is emerging whose key motivation is to purchase an estate for woodland creation projects, supported by Government targets and grant funding. Such buyers are targeting hill land suitable for large-scale woodland creation, attracted by the current average values.

Of the estate sales handled by Savills last year, some of the highest prices were achieved where estates comprised either forestry or land suitable for planting. The increasing value and competitive nature of the forestry investment market, and strong rises in timber prices, are signalling a very positive outlook for forestry. Motivated by the lack of supply this new type of buyer is looking to buy rural land on which to create their own.

There will be an increasing number of occasions where land, which was once deemed only suitable for sport, will be seen to offer other opportunities, ultimately being re-purposed for forestry, renewables, conservation or tourism projects. This will broaden the base of potential buyers, underpinning future values.

Estates are tending to take longer to sell, sometimes up to 18 months, but this is not because of a shortage of buyers:  rather it reflects the increasing prominence of investors as well as businessmen and women who have a number of other priorities to juggle.

For the most part, they are buying without borrowings and often willing to pay a premium for the right property. While fewer Scottish rural estates were launched on to the open market last year, the total amount of money chasing them was almost £700 million*, with buyers from all over the globe having an average budget of £7 million to spend compared with £3 million just 10 years ago.

There were some spectacularly strong deals done at closing dates last year, with 25 per cent of those registering with Savills to buy a Scottish estate originating from outside the UK. The love affair that many individuals have with Scotland has not diminished, and there is a very healthy demand for all that Scotland has to offer.

*Savills Research

Further information

Contact Savills Scotland