UK land for construction prices fall but developers don't have the funds
Developers in the UK are putting off or pulling out of buying land to build on because of the recession. A growing supply of residential land, particularly in the south east of the country, has no buyers, according to figures from the Valuation Office Agency. Land transactions arranged in early 2008 are falling through or subject to renegotiation. 'Housebuilders have experienced such a sharp decline in sales that they have shelved buying land until perceived better times and those that have not mothballed sites have slowed production and reduced workforces,' said James Feltham, a senior consultant surveyor at DVS, the commercial arm of the VOA. Examples include the King Alfred scheme in Hove which has fallen through as developer Karis cannot obtain the funding. In Southampton a residential and arts development in the city centre was halted when developer City Lofts went into administration and a landmark residential tower at the entrance to the City's Ocean Village has been halted.

 

Prime London property prices continue downward slide but interest picks up from foreign buyers
Prices of prime residential property in London has fallen for the eighth month in a row with house now losing faster than flats. The lastest Knight Frank index shows that prices in central London fell by 3.6% in November, the second largest fall afdter october's record of 3.9%. This puts prices at 14.1% lower thgan last year. However the weak Pound is stimulating interest from foreign property buyers which may give some hope for sellers. 'In previous months we noted that super-prime properties had remained immune from the downturn, and that houses were performing better than flats. Neither of these trends have continued into the final quarter of the year,' said Liam Bailey, head of residential research, Knight Frank.Super-prime property worth over £10 million was still increasing in value until the summer. Now, however, it has seen three months of consecutive falls and values are 7.5% lower than at the market's peak in August. Nevertheless the report shows that properties worth over £5 million are still holding value better than cheaper homes, with values falling by 1.9% during November, compared to 4.3% for those priced at under £5 million.