§ Mr. David NicholsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the link between housing land shortages and the house price increase of the late 1980s; and if he will make a statement. [19023]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordIn 1990, my Department commissioned Gerald Eve, chartered surveyors in association with the department of land economy, University of Cambridge to undertake research on the relationship between house prices and land supply.
The study concluded that it would require significant additional land release, on a national scale and over a considerable period of time, to have a measurable effect on reducing average house prices.
Further research will be commissioned in the coming financial year to examine whether the links between planning and land and property prices can be further clarified.