Colombo District land valuation up 10.4% YoY in 2H of 2019

The Land Valuations Indicator (LVI) for the Colombo District compiled by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka reached 138.9 during the second half of 2019, recording an increase of 10.4% compared to the second half of 2018. 

All three sub-indicators of LVI, namely Residential, Commercial and Industrial, have contributed to this increase, the Central Bank added.  Residential LVI recorded the highest year-on-year increase of 10.7%, while both Commercial LVI and Industrial LVI increased by 10.3%. Meanwhile, LVI increased by 5.1% in the second half of 2019 from the first half of 2019.

The Land Price Index (LPI) had been compiled from 1998 to 2008 on an annual basis and from 2009 to 2017 on a biannual basis, covering five Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Colombo District. 

Subsequently, from 2017 onwards, its geographical coverage was enhanced to represent all 13 Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Colombo District and hence it was rebased considering the first half of 2017 as the base period. From the second half of 2019 onwards, LPI was renamed LVI and released on a biannual basis.

Bare land prices per perch are obtained from the Government Valuation Department on a biannual 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.