- Release of space held vacant
By comparison to the rest this will often provide the least number of properties but can provide the quickest solution to short term fluctuations.
- Brownfield development this can be done by a changing the use of land to suit the most profitable type of properties possibility residential.
This may only provide a few more than the utilization of empty buildings, but can have a time lag when delayed by the planning controls in place by the government.
- Release of green fields for development into new properties, given the location of a city centre this might not be approved by the planners in this case.(Government intervention see later) This is very similar in time scale to the brown field development and has the same restrictions as them
- Conversion of existing properties into residential usage, changing the use of empty offices or retail buildings. This will provide a quicker solution than new build, but once again is subject to the planners, one way the government can manage the housing sector with out be a provider.
As construction projects can be slow to come to the market place then any current developments are subject to a time lag. This time lag means developers can look at what is lacking in the market today and provide to suit any shortfalls. As there has been a large increase in one sub-group of residential then this has caused an under supply, and a rise in price (see fig 1)
Governments should be involved in property management as residential is a sub group of the property market, due to many factors this market is considered inefficient. Government intervention in this market is by a manor of different ways and is to try and reduce the inefficiencies and improve equity.
As there is only a finite amount of land available then certain restrictions on the type of construction and land usage that can take place are enforced. This is undertaken by the use of planning restraints by the Government. These restraints affect the economy by reducing the freedom of choice available in the market place adding to make it more inelastic. These restrictions help to prevent any unplanned building from occurring in undesired locations, reducing some of the externalities present in the market place.
Some older historic buildings may have greater restrictions in developments, thus increasing costs should a developer choose an older building. This is to preserve this buildings for future generations.
Theses planning policies set by the government can affect the way land is used, thus effecting how the local economy might develop or reside. A good example of this is how the government has recently moved some of its main departments out of the south east region. This has affected Exeter as it was chosen for the new Met Office; this has had an effect on the local residential market as cash rich people have moved out of London.
This has created an extra demand on the market causing local house prices to rise, and pricing some of the local people of the market place. A similar thing would happen given the example in the assignment of a sudden increase in demand for one type of property. As we are dealing with city center location then this has an additional affect which can be summed up by using Von- Thünen theory. As this is a central piece of land then this attracts a premium when compared to any of the outer zone.