Industrial Land Values — A Guide to Future Markets?

The study provides empirical evidence of industrial land prices as a factor explaining variations in industrial rents in local markets. Evidence is obtained from the estimation of a regression model of rents in six markets in the United Kingdom using King Sturge data. The conclusion is that industrial land values have a distinct, although not uniform, effect on industrial rents from that of economic variables and past rents. This effect was documented in four of the six markets examined. Therefore, appraisers, developers and investors can use land values as an indicator of the direction of rents in local markets. However, effective monitoring of land value trends requires the deployment of more resources to improve the existing data.