UK: The total number of BTR homes has grown by 19 per cent in the past year, according to new research from the British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills.
The analysis, conducted at the end of Q1 2022, shows 72,668 BTR homes have now been completed in the UK, up from 60,965 a year previously. Completions in the past year were evenly spread across London at 5,802 homes and regional cities at 5,901.
Completed schemes contained an average of 140 units, while those under construction averaged 243 homes, and projects in planning averaged 308 units.
The research also noted that the construction and planning pipeline suggests market growth will be sustained, with a total of 46,304 homes under construction at the end of Q1 – up 14 per cent year-on-year – and units in the planning pipeline 11 per cent higher than 12 months ago.
“Our analysis for the first quarter of the year underlines just how rapidly the UK build-to-rent sector is expanding,” said Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at BPF. “Completed homes increasing by a fifth in a single year is a significant leap and suggests the sector is making a strong contribution to UK housing delivery.”
“One thing to watch in coming quarters will be turbulence caused by build cost inflation. However, the sector’s planning pipeline continues to grow, and we are seeing a shift towards larger-scale development as investors recognise the acute shortage of high-quality homes in many cities and the need to intensify land use in and around densely populated areas,” he added.
Guy Whittaker, associate, residential research, Savills, said: “It is clear that Build-to-Rent is already making an important contribution to national housing delivery. Expansion into new locations can help address the shortages of rental stock seen up and down the country, while the growth of single-family housing provision, an area of chronic undersupply, is the next stage of growth for the sector.”
“New rental supply in both urban and suburban markets have the potential to sustain housing delivery volumes once Help to Buy comes to an end on 31 March 2023 and to be a vital source of high-quality housing,” he added.
