by Peter Randall, managing director of RPC Land & New Homes

After a two-year hiatus when residential land sales were few and far between, the market has really picked up in recent months.

During the toughest period of the economic downturn the property market had slowed considerably and sales of land pretty much ground to a halt.

The big developers withdrew from the market and relied on developing the stocks of land they had built up in healthier times to keep businesses ticking over.

For the smaller developers it was an even tougher time and few made any significant moves in the market.

Now things are moving again. The big players are very much back in the game and are looking to rebuild the land banks they depleted while negotiating the depths of the downturn.

Evidence of this came recently in Rochester where we had seven large developers submitting very competitive bids for a prime development site. Another site of more than 300 units attracted eight offers and resulted in a competitive top bid.

As for the smaller outfits, there is movement here too but they are still understandably cautious.

Whereas at the height of the market a smaller company would have two or three sites under development and two or three more at various stages of the planning process, at the moment the tendency is to work one site at a time.

As ever, prime residential land with planning consent is the most sought after and as demand has increased so have the prices being secured.

However, a word of warning - if you are considering putting a plot on the market with planning permission in place it is essential you think carefully about what sort of consent you seek.

For example, land with approval for blocks of apartments is still proving hard to move as banks are simply not lending to developers putting forward such proposals and even on housing sites they are making finance available only under onerous conditions.

To maximise the value of your plot I would always recommend consulting a land expert before submitting a planning application.

They can advise you on the best way forward and help you make the most of a recovering market.

* RPC Land and New Homes have land experts covering the whole of Kent and marketing centres in west Kent, Thames Gateway and mid and east Kent.

For further advice or information, visit www.rpcland.co.uk or contact the land director at your nearest RPC Land and New Homes office.