Commercial property sales have fallen by over £5 billion in Scotland, according to new reports.
The Scottish market has seen sales drop by 80 per cent since 2007, when the sector saw new heights. It had been in 2007 when the current economic crisis had begun across the world and in Scotland.
These startling figures have caused the Scottish Property Federation (SPF) to suggest that the Scottish government has to do everything in its power to reignite growth within the sector. These changes include ensuring any increases in fees in the planning system in Scotland should correspond with service improvements, whilst suggesting that the government should aim to be realistic when it comes to regulating energy-efficient buildings.
Jestyn Davies, chairman of the SPF and managing director of Murray Estates, said: “The wider picture of the low or no growth economy continues to affect the property industry harshly.
“There is great potential within our industry to contribute to national wealth and indeed to create jobs, improve placemaking and enhance the energy efficiency of commercial buildings, but we need the best possible regulatory and tax environment that allows the sector to attract investment and flourish.”
Other recommendations include changing business rate policies so that empty property rates do not affect investors, and encouraging new investment in infrastructure so that there can be a boost to the economy.
The SPF hosted an annual conference today (March 5th) in Edinburgh which placed a specific focus on town centres, considering that some parts of Scotland have a retail vacancy rate of 26 per cent. Ministers hope that the high street can be transformed so that it can become a place where communities can live, play and work efficiently.