In Conversation: Q&A With David Hawkes, Land & New Homes Director

Thu 28 Feb 2019

What does your job involve, exactly?

At its simplest, it’s about connecting people. Lovett Land & New Homes have built up relationships with property developers and house builders both locally and across the UK (thanks to our membership of the Land & New Homes Network) and my job is to connect them with the owners of land that meet their sales criteria.

My colleagues and I spend a lot of our time going through planning applications, looking for the sites with potential and talking to landowners who may or may not be in a place to put their sites on the market. It’s our job to put forward the evidence that demonstrates that there’s never been a better time!

So what’s the land market like at the moment?

For us and our clients, it’s been incredibly positive. I’ll be honest, there have been a few scare stories in the press about certain pockets of the property market, but it doesn’t bear any relation to what we’re seeing on the ground.

The fact is that the population’s growing and the government has been pushing a new build agenda for years now to meet the growing demand.

There’s a huge appetite for property – particularly among first time buyers – and this is having a direct impact on land sales. If you own land, don’t wait for an undefined time in the future when your site may or may not be more desirable. The time is now!

What advice would you give to a landowner considering selling?

I think it would be three-fold: look at all the options open to you; be realistic about your land’s value; and don’t give up if your first planning application is declined. Whichever stage of the process you’re at, it’s definitely worth getting in touch.

And how would you advise any landowners looking for opportunities further afield?

Again, let’s talk. I mentioned the L&NHN earlier, and this network connects us with leading independent agents from all over that share our values and professional approach. At the same time, we know the trusted architects, planners and other professionals to talk to – in pretty much every part of the UK.