Conceptual Framework (Simple Version): Factors Influencing Land Values and Landownership Concentration (SRUC-E3-1/C3-1 WP1A)

The research was concerned with understanding the multiple (and interrelated) factors which influence motivations to buy or sell land, and the effects of these factors on land values and landownership concentration. The investment decision-making processes of private sector investors and companies (mainly in the forestry and renewable energy sectors) was of interest due to their increasing purchases of Scottish land.  

The research consisted of three main elements. Firstly, a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) was conducted to identify key factors which influence demand for land and through this, land values. We developed a search protocol and searched two databases for review papers and conceptual frameworks of investment decision making in land, identifying thirty- six relevant studies. Factors were extracted and summarised into tables. Secondly, we interviewed land agents and land valuers to provide further context, focusing on market dynamics in the farmland, estates and forestry sectors of Scotland. Supply- and demand-side factors, and factors influencing value were extracted. Finally, results were combined with a pre-existing framework from research on diversity of ownership (Thomson et al., 2016) to produce a detailed framework of factors influencing land values and land use concentration in Scotland.