Greenfield land values in England and Wales rose by 2.7% during Q4 2013 according to Knight Frank’s residential development land index.

The increase was the fourth consecutive quarter of growth giving the average price a 7.1% uplift for 2013 as a whole, marking a turnaround from 2012, when prices were largely static.

Grainne Gilmore, Head of UK Residential Research at Knight Frank, said: “As market activity has stepped up, developers have seen their cost of capital reduced as they are able to sell their stock more quickly, and are effectively holding land for shorter periods of time. This allows room for land values to rise.”

Land Registry data analysed by Knight Frank indicates that the number of new-build sales in England and Wales rose by 8% between April and the end of September 2013, compared to the same period in 2012.

This rise is a clear indication that the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme has had an impact, with nearly 13,000 new-build homes bought between April and December 2013 using the equity loan scheme.

Prime central London development land prices increased by 1.9% in Q4 2013, but this was significantly lower than the 4.5% rise seen in Q3 and the 4% rise in Q2.