Although the current tightening of available credit has hit house-builders and mortgage seekers alike, Kent property experts RPC Land and New Homes believes that the right sites in a good location will still attract a lot of interest from residential developers.

House developers are among the groups hit hardest by the recent credit crunch, which has seen banks wary of lending money or extending credit, while the mortgage market has dried up making it harder to sell properties already built.

This has made life tougher for house-builders although many still have an eye on the future and are actively seeking new sites for development.

RPC Managing Director Peter Randall, said: “There is no denying, we are experiencing a softening in the land and new homes market like the rest of the country, however, for the right sites in the right place we are still seeing a lot of competition from developers. We recently marketed a large site in West Kent, which attracted 13 bids and another site in Mid Kent that attracted five bids, which shows there are deals to be done and that the market is by no means dead.

“ We are also seeing commercial values get a lot closer to residential prices and that is resulting in some developers being a lot more creative with sites. We are seeing more purely commercial or mixed-use investors/purchasers coming forward and certainly there is a greater demand for family housing rather than flats or apartments.”

With good plots still being competitively bid for, getting professional advice on marketing and selling to a developer has never been more important.

Peter Randall added: “It is very important to know whether your site has the potential to attract interest and to see if there are any other alternative uses in the current market. Using the skills and contacts of a professional land agent can make sure the right sort of development is devised for a plot, which ultimately should attract the maximum potential price.

“Although the market is currently suffering compared to recent years, there is undoubtedly purchasers now once again looking for opportunities and with the amount of time it takes for sites to be sold and then achieve planning, developers are looking at plots now that they can get to work on in 18 months to two years time when the economic situation may have changed greatly.”

RPC Land and New Homes has specialist centres covering West Kent, Mid Kent, East Kent and Thames Gateway.

For further information visit rpcland.co.uk or to discuss individual needs call Peter Randall on 01732 363633 or e-mail p.randall@rpcland.co.uk.