UK: New figures published by the British Property Federation (BPF) shows the total number of homes completed, under construction or in planning is up 13 per cent year-on-year to 237,000.
The research also shows a record number of local authorities have BTR units in their housing pipeline – 45 per cent of local authorities now BTR homes in their future housing supply, up from 37 per cent in Q2 2021 and 25 per cent in 2018.
Conducted at the end of Q2 2022, the analysis, in collaboration with Savills, showed a 16 per cent increase in the number of completed homes to 73,739; a 13 per cent increase in units under construction to 47,764; and a 10 per cent increase in units in planning to 115,859.
The number of units in regional cities is up 16 per cent year-on-year compared with eight per cent in London.
Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at BPF, said: “Our analysis for the second quarter of the year further underlines just how rapidly the UK Build to Rent sector is expanding. We can see a broader spread and increased presence of Build to Rent across the country, with more local authorities including it in Local Plans and considering it a vital component of future housing supply. This shows the market maturing beyond London and major regional city centres to towns and suburban locations and Build to Rent becoming very much part of a more diverse and futureproof UK housing market.”
“At the inception of the Build to Rent sector in 2012, the intention was that it should become a nationwide phenomenon, adding to supply and providing a quality rental offer across the country. It is pleasing to say a decade later that hope has become the reality,” he added.
The highlighted that single-family BTR is the fastest growing sub-sector over the past 12 months, with a 44 per cent increase in the number of units in the pipeline – to 21,000.
Jacqui Daly, director of residential investment research at Savills, said: “We continue to see strong demand for Build to Rent from investors, who are paying competitively for stock against deep occupier demand in a chronically undersupplied private rented sector. The opportunity for developers and investors in single family Build to Rent is being increasingly widely recognised, with this the fastest growing sub-sector over the past year, with a 44 per cent uplift in the number of homes in the pipeline.
“At the same time, housebuilders are also increasingly looking at single family Build to Rent as an exit, particularly given the looming end of Help to Buy, which itself looks set to boost demand for private rented homes,” she added.
