Colombo District’s land value records robust growth in 1H

The Land Valuation Indicator (LVI) for the Colombo District has displayed robust growth in the first half of 2024 achieving a remarkable score of 230.1, according to its compiler, the Central Bank said. 

The annual increase of 6.9% signifies a noteworthy expansion.

The Central Bank said the rise in LVI has been attributed to consistent upticks across all sub-indicators; Residential, Commercial, and Industrial LVIs, each contributing significantly to the overall upward trend. The respective annual increases in these sub-indicators were recorded at 8.5%, 8.5%, and 3.7%.

During the first half of 2024, LVI demonstrated an encouraging semi-annual growth rate of 4.7% in comparison to the second half of 2023. The Central Bank said it observed that Industrial LVI increased at a slower pace compared to Commercial and Residential LVIs.

The Land Price Index (LPI) compiled from 1998 to 2008 on an annual basis and from 2009 to 2017 on a semi-annual basis, covering 5 DS divisions in the Colombo District. Subsequently, from 2017 onwards, its geographical coverage was enhanced to represent all 13 DS divisions in the Colombo District and hence it was rebased considering 1st half of 2017 as the base period. From 2020 onwards LPI was renamed as Land Valuation Indicator (LVI) and continued to be released on a semi-annual basis.

Per perch, bare land prices are obtained from the Government Valuation Department on a semi-annual basis.

Considering the diverse nature of land use, and the necessity of maintaining homogeneity, three sub-indicators for residential, commercial and industrial lands are computed separately for each DS division using the average per perch bare land price in the area. The LVI is the simple average of these three sub-indicators.