Britain’s residential property market has for a long time been dominated by the big house builders, over the last twelve months, however, smaller developers have slowly been winning over the sector.
Property adviser Savills has published a study that reveals that small and medium sized house builders have been building more homes in recent times. This is due to more supported from the Government as well as financing that’s easier to access.
Another new and growing player in the field are build-to-rent developers and investors alike. Especially when it comes to the more regional key cities, these kind of developments are increasing dramatically in popularity.
According to number put together by the British Property Foundation and Savills, a total of 16,000 build-to-rent homes already exist in the UK. Another 21,000 are under construction.
During Q1 2017, Savills reported an increasing interest from traditional developers as well as build-to-rent developers in areas such as Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester.
Whilst medium sized construction companies had to focus on building properties comprising between 50 and 100 homes they are now able to put together sites for 100 to 250 homes.
Build-to-rent developers and investors make three year tenancies the norm
Traditionally, this used to be the sole domain of the few major construction companies.
Lucy Greenwood is Savills residential development research analyst and commented the company’s findings:
“The rise of strong regional cities and the growing mismatch of supply and demand in many of those cities, is boosting demand for land for housing and, in turn, urban land values.”