Jul 09, 2010. /Lesprom Network/. Scottish forests and farmland have seen greater increases in value than property over the last five years, as KMS Baltics reported. According to estate agent Knight Frank, farmland prices in Scotland have risen by around 148% since 2005. In the last six months alone, they have increased by 8%. By contrast, house prices in Scotland increased by just one per cent in the first half of this year and are only slightly higher than they were five years ago. Knight Frank pointed out that forests and farmland are also seen as safe investments compared to equities and hedge funds. "Unlike in the residential and commercial sectors, banks have also continued to lend to farming businesses looking to expand, confident that there is a secure asset to back up their loans," said the estate agent's head of farm sales James Denne. Research by Investment Property Databank has shown that total returns offered by UK forestry averaged 16.1% between the end of 2006 and the end of 2009. During the same period, UK equities delivered returns of minus 1.3%