Supply-side policies and the UK commercial property markets: 1979-1990

This paper examines the impact on the commercial property markets of supply-side policies introduced by the UK Government between 1979 and 1990. It focuses on the structural changes made to the capital and land markets and investigates the long-term implications of these changes for the supply of commercial space. Supply-side policies implemented during the 1980s are examined and market evidence in the form of planning, construction and rental data is used to establish market fluctuations over the same period. The research clarifies the distinction between the short-term impacts and the long-term structural changes in the land and capital markets arising from those supply-side strategies. It examines in greater detail the significance of the structural changes to the future performance of the commercial property markets. The conclusions relate to the importance of these structural changes to any analysis or monitoring of activity within the commercial property markets from the 1990s onward. The potential impact on the commercial property markets of any further structural changes to the captial and land markets needs thorough investigation and should not be underestimated.