Glasgow has been named among Europe’s top green cities for real estate, living up to its name as the ‘dear green place’ ahead of the UN’s COP26 climate change summit. Glasgow is among the top 20 major green cities for real estate in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Glasgow features on the list alongside Paris, London, Dublin, and Berlin. Green-rated buildings can command a sale price premium of between 8% and 18% compared to equivalent un-rated properties, complementing previous research the consultancy conducted in London which suggested a 3%-13% rental premium for green-rated space. Glasgow has long been a forward-looking city and, as the origins of its name suggest, its green spaces have been a large part of its attraction as a place to live and work. It is fitting that Glasgow is recognized as a leader in sustainability as it prepares to host the COP26 climate change conference.
Property investors and occupiers are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of real estate, and that is driving the demand for green buildings. The office sector is tipped to be the focus of more than half of all major cross-border transactions globally, while residential property is forecast to be the second most invested sector in 2022. Sources of capital are likely to be broad based, including the US, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, and Japan. Prime offices are likely to be the main target along with some of the large build-to-rent schemes that are underway in Scotland’s Central Belt. The occupier markets in Glasgow and Edinburgh have been remarkably robust during the pandemic, while the rise of retail warehousing and industrials has been inexorable with a range of assets already trading and more deals likely to follow soon.