Forestry land values across Central Scotland – including Renfrewshire – have fallen sharply as Scotland’s rural land market continues to cool, according to new figures from the Scottish Land Commission.
The Commission’s Rural Land Market Data Report 2025 shows the average price of forestry land dropped by around a third in 2024, falling from £15,327 per hectare to £10,054. The decline follows a surge in demand during 2021 and 2022 driven by woodland creation and natural capital investment, with the market now settling back to more sustainable levels.
While large, high-profile land sales remain rare, the report highlights that activity in Central Scotland increased last year, with more smaller land transactions taking place. This trend is particularly relevant for Renfrewshire, where rural land tends to be made up of farms, forestry blocks and smaller estates rather than vast holdings.
Across Scotland, 94 per cent of all rural land sales over the last five years were under 500 hectares, reinforcing that most buying and selling continues to centre on modest-scale land rather than headline-grabbing estates.
Farmland markets showed a mixed picture. The average size of farmland sales fell to its lowest level in five years, while the price per hectare reached a new high. The Commission says this reflects strong local demand for smaller parcels of land, particularly where neighbouring farms are seeking to expand.
Estate sales were at their lowest level in five years, with fewer properties coming onto the market amid ongoing uncertainty around land reform and taxation. This quieter estate market is also reflected in parts of Renfrewshire where estate-scale holdings are limited and sales remain infrequent.
The Scottish Land Commission says gaps in land market data remain an ongoing challenge, but stresses that improving transparency is essential to support land reform and ensure decisions affecting rural communities are based on sound evidence.
The report is published alongside the Rural Land Market Insights Report 2025, which draws on interviews with land agents across Scotland to explain the pressures shaping the market.
Both reports are available at www.landcommission.gov.scot.
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