New figures have revealed Scottish commercial property sales declined for the third quarter running between July and September this year.

The Scottish Property Federation's (SPF) analysis of the latest figures by the Registers of Scotland for Q3 revealed £693 million worth of sales during the period, down 12% compared with Q2.

Between Q2 and Q3 this year, the number of commercial property sales were down 8% on previous figures.

SPF stated: "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."

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Despite the decline, property information leader Costar UK reported a slight improvement in investment volumes, with £416m invested across all commercial property sectors in Q3 2017, bringing the total investment for the first three quarters of this year to £1.57 billion.

However, SPF Director David Melhuish said a third consecutive quarter of negative growth in commercial real estate sales "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," he said.

"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."

To view SPF's report, visit here.

(LM/MH)