Development land values in the Thames Valley continue to demonstrate resilience despite challenging market conditions, according to new research by Savills.
And despite a slow end to 2025, the property giant and Thames Tap partner predicts a steady market in 2026 and the potential for value growth.
The research shows that in the development land market, greenfield land values in the region fell by 3.4 per cent in Q4, 2025, leading to an annual drop of four per cent. Urban land values experienced the sharpest decline, falling by 4.4 per cent in the quarter and 5.2 per cent annually.
The subdued end to 2025 was in part due to uncertainty surrounding the Autumn Budget and speculation around potential policy changes, which either slowed down land transactions or accelerated them at lower price points.
Savills says landowners were required to take a view when selling land in Q4, with possible changes to Capital Gains Tax in some cases, influencing decision making. Those pressures were compounded by weaker housing market conditions, as slowing sales rates and very limited house price inflation reduced the appetite for land.
Market conditions have also been challenging in relation to affordable housing take-up and funding.
However, Savills reports activity is already picking up in 2026 as funding from the new Social and Affordable Homes Programme is allocated and previously allocated funding needs to be spent, showing unlocked demand from housing associations.
Savills South Central Development team, which covers Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, transacted on 26 deals during 2025, with capacity for 3,495 units and a total land value of £272 million.
The team also entered into 10 strategic agreements across the region, with a combined capacity to deliver around 4,900 plots over 496 acres. Its valuation experts valued property totalling £1 billion.
Ed Keeling, director and joint head of Savills South Central Development (pictured), said: “Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, activity across our region highlights a level of resilience in the development land market. While market headwinds have been widely reported, there continue to be opportunities for well-located and appropriately priced sites.
“Our outlook for the year ahead is a continued steady market without rapid land value increases. There are clear indications of an increase in submitted planning applications across England, which should lead to greater land supply.
“Coupled with the prospect of lower mortgage rates and the potential introduction of a government-backed buyer incentive, this points towards a stronger, albeit steady, development land market. We have a very strong pipeline of projects, with several notable instructions launching in the next quarter across all counties we cover.”
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