Land values fall at fastest rate since 2009

Land values have fallen at their fastest rate since the global financial crisis as housebuilders rein in spending. Savills said there had been “noticeably less demand” for land in the final three months of 2022, with greenfield prices falling by 2.2% in Q4 compared with the previous quarter, while urban land fell by 1.6%. This marked the biggest quarterly fall in land values since the second quarter of 2009, Savills said, although both categories were still worth more than they were at the beginning of 2022. The dip is due to housebuilders pausing land acquisitions, after sales of new homes were cut in half over the last quarter. Taylor Wimpey, Persimmon and Vistry have all said they have hit the pause button on buying land or have become more selective. The Times (£)