Fierce competition for land in some of the UK's northern cities means its value is soaring faster than the price of homes in the same areas.
In Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester, the price of residential land is up 15pc, according to Savills, compared to house prices that are up 6.3pc, 8pc and 9.4pc respectively.
Developers are looking to build in these regional hotspots because property prices there have been climbing much faster than in London and other southern cities. Across the UK, urban land values increased by 4.1pc year-on-year.
This is in contrast to the land market in central London, where fewer developments are in train and the price of expensive new-build properties has dropped. Land prices in the capital's zone one fell 8.9pc in the six months to September 2016, after which they stabilised at 0.1pc growth.
Lucy Greenwood, Savills' residential development research analyst, said: “There is still interest for sites in the capital’s central zone, however, from international bidders able to exploit the currency advantage.
"We are also seeing international investors partnering with local developers, where land owners are ready to take a hit on the price they’d have achieved a year ago."
In outer areas of London, demand remains high due to the chronic shortage of homes. Ms Greenwood added: “Competition for land in zones two to six is coming from all types of developers from UK housebuilders to niche developers.”
The soaring price of land was highlighted in a report last week by the Communities and Local Government Committee, which suggested that there should be public intervention in the land market.