The gap in land markets continues to widen, with some sites thriving and others failing to recover well, according to a new report.
A permanent rift is growing between small, serviced sites which experience strong demand and larger regeneration sites which see little trading, the latest Market in Minutes survey suggests.
The rate of growth in so-called Greenfield land – which is underdeveloped – has slowed again, increasing by 2.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 compared to urban land values which grew by just 0.2 per cent.
This could be due to a weakness in the housing market, a shortage of long-term equity, a shortage of lending and an uncertain localism plan.
Market in Minutes also puts this down to buyers and sellers feeling vulnerable due to wider economic factors such as the public sector spending cuts and only a small recovery in the country’s economy.
It is also apparent that the north is suffering while Bristol outperforms the rest of the country due to a shortage of housing which, combined with interest from overseas investors, has fuelled competition for residential development sites.
In the wake of the government spending review earlier this week, many industry experts have criticised George Osborne’s decision to reduce the amount of funding available for housing, although the commitment of funds for social housing development has been welcomed.
