The latest Residential Development Land Index by Knight Frank has revealed that greenfield, urban brownfield and prime central London land prices declined during Q3 as Brexit weighed on the amount some developers were willing to pay for sites, while others opted to wait for more clarity over the UK’s future relationship with the European Union before making strategic investments in land.

Greenfield development land values declined 2.1% during Q3, the first quarterly decline since Q2 2017, taking annual growth to 2.6%. During the past twelve months the greenfield land market has been characterised by competitive bidding, particularly for smaller, ‘oven-ready’ sites in locations where there is clear demand, or where regeneration or transport upgrades are scheduled.

Average values in the urban brownfield land index declined 2.3%, moderating the annual growth to 3.3%. The breakdown of sites within the Knight Frank index shows values in cities outside of London remained largely flat, while the value of some, higher density sites in London declined as government measures aimed at cooling demand from buy-to-let investors continues to be factored in.