Soaring land values worsen London's housing shortage

[LONDON] Land prices are soaring in central London, making it more difficult for developers to supply homes that residents can afford and reducing Mayor Boris Johnson's chances of alleviating the city's housing shortage.

Values jumped 25.8 per cent in the year through March, compared with a 13.1 per cent gain in the city's most desirable neighbourhoods, broker Savills plc said in a report yesterday.

Housing plots in the capital now cost 27 per cent more than their pre-crash peak in 2007, according to the report.