Colombo land value growth decelerates to single digits in first half

The growth in land values in the Colombo district fell below 10 percent for the first time in years, decelerating to 7.1 percent year-on-year (YoY) in the first half of the year from 10.8 percent recorded in the second  half of 2019, according to the Land Valuations Indicator (LVI) complied by the Central Bank (CB).

The indicator reached 141.6 points with an annual increase of 7.1 percent during the first half of the year backed by 7.2 percent YoY growth in industrial land values, 7.1 percent YoY growth in both residential and commercial land values in the period. 

On a semi-annual basis, the growth in land value in the Colombo district also decelerated to 2 percent in the first half of the year compared to 5.1 percent in the second half of 2019.
“Both annual and semi-annual percentage changes of LVI showed a declining trend over the recent periods,” the CB said. 

The growth in land values in the Colombo district peaked to 16.3 percent YoY and 17.9 percent YoY in the first and second half of 2018. Since then the growth in land values in the Colombo district has been trending downwards. 

In particular, the growth in the commercial and industrial land values has now almost come down to the growth levels of residential 
land prices.

The biannual LVI is based on the per perch bare land prices obtained from the Government Valuation Department covering all 13 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Colombo district.