Rural land market
reporting

Evidence to inform rural land policy

Scotland’s rural land market influences farming, forestry, nature restoration and the way communities develop.

The Scottish Land Commission, in partnership with SRUC, publishes annual reporting to help policy makers, researchers and the sector understand how this market is changing.

Our reporting is built around two complementary reports each year:

  • Insights Report. Based on anonymous interviews with land agents, providing a window into market sentiment, drivers of demand and trends that don’t appear in the official data.
  • Data Report. Tracks sales of farmland, estates and forestry, analysing volumes, prices and geographic patterns across Scotland.

Together, these reports offer the clearest picture available of Scotland’s rural land market and how it is evolving over time.

Latest reports


Get the most recent analysis of the rural land market.

Insights Report

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Data Report

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0.5%

The percentage of Scotland’s land that changed hands last year, reflecting a slowdown in the market from previous years.

How we gather the evidence


Our approach combines market intelligence with transaction data:

  • Anonymous interviews with land agents give a real-time view of market sentiment and emerging trends.
  • Sales data, analysed with Scotland’s Rural College SRUC, tracks transactions for farmland, estates and forestry across Scotland.

Comprehensive information on rural land transactions can be difficult to obtain. By combining these two approaches we aim to build the most complete and trusted evidence base available and continue to work with partners to improve transparency over time.

Why it matters


Rural land sales both influence and respond to policy decisions across a wide range of areas. These reports provide policy makers, research bodies and the sector with a shared evidence base to understand and shape the evolving land market.

Previous reports

  • Rural Land Markets Insights 2025 - Policy Briefing

    June 2025

    The Land Market Insights Report 2025 is the fourth report in our ongoing Rural Land Market series which aims to improve the understanding of the activity in the Scottish land market each year.

  • Rural Land Markets Insights 2025

    June 2025

    The Land Market Insights Report 2025 is the fourth report in our ongoing Rural Land Market series which aims to improve the understanding of the activity in the Scottish land market each year.

  • Rural Land Market Insights Report

    June 2024

    Analysis of land sales data and proposals for improving future reporting of land market transactions

  • Rural Land Market Insights Report 2023

    2023

    A report to the Scottish Land Commission

  • Rural Land Market Insights Report

    May 2022

    Analysis of land sales data 2020-2023

  • Rural Land Market Data Report

    May 2022

    Analysis of land sales data 2020-2023

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