Built-to-rent Sector To Almost Double While End of Q4 Anticipates Larger House Price Drop Than Expected

I am back ??

In the last month, I've been observing recent developments.

I've curated the most intriguing highlights and summarised them for your convenience.

As we've entered the final quarter, let's take a look at what I've gathered for you.

Housing Market Updates

• According to a recent study by Reallymoving, the UK housing market is expected to experience a decline of approximately 4% during the final quarter of 2023. The findings indicate that the average property price is anticipated to decrease from ￡336,999 in Q3 of this year to ￡323,594 in Q4.
• Interestingly, despite the overall decrease in house prices, the market is poised for an even more substantial decline than initially anticipated for this year.
• Knight Frank, a prominent estate agency, has revised its earlier estimate of a 5% price drop made in March. They suggest that house prices may plummet by 7% by the end of 2023.
• Knight Frank also predicts substantial growth for the UK's Build-to-Rent (BTR) sector, foreseeing a ￡55 billion increase in the next five years, a significant 77% rise that will take the sector's value to ￡126 billion by 2028.
• For context, the sector's value has already doubled in four years, going from ￡35 billion in 2019 to ￡71 billion in 2023.

Will this help with the undersupply that’s currently crushing the rental market?

• Some stats on BTR homes:? Completed = 90,000?? Under construction = 67,000?? Planning granted = 74,000

Most importantly, will it bring down rents?

• Because, rents have been going up, mainly because more people are looking for places to rent than there are available homes.
• According to Zoopla, the average monthly rent for new renters has gone up by 10.3% in the year to September.
• So, renting a place for a year costs about ￡1,320 more than it did last year, now almost ￡13,970 in total. This has been happening for 19 months in a row, Zoopla reports.
• You may want to refer to the image below for a detailed breakdown of the madness, courtesy of Zoopla.

• Buying a home in the UK can be really pricey, and they're some of the most expensive homes globally.
• But here's the twist: a new report from the Home Builders Federation (HBF) shows that when it comes to quality – things like the condition, age, and affordability of homes – the UK ranks pretty low!

In the UK, we pay more for less. In the UK, expensive doesn’t necessarily reflect quality. ??

• Here's something interesting: more homeowners are choosing to knock down their old homes and start from scratch.
• In 2022, demolitions had decreased by 62% compared to the previous decade, but now, according to GetAgent, there's a 3.7% increase in this trend.
• The reason? It saves these homeowners around ￡70,000 compared to buying a brand-new home.
• We’re just wondering how many of these homes made it to advertisement platforms, as we see a surge in the number of houses for sale. ??

??'Hood in the spotlight:?Pebble Mill, Birmingham

A ￡2 million flood risk management project is underway in Birmingham's Pebble Mill area to protect over 100 residential properties from the River Rea's flooding.

Historically, the area has experienced floods, most recently in 2016 and 2018.

The project involves building a 250-metre embankment in Pebble Mill Playing Fields, rising to 1.2 metres, diverting floodwaters from properties into the River Rea.

Last year, four weirs were removed, which improved water flow, water quality, and aquatic life.

Once the barrier is complete, the restoration will include a wildflower meadow, footpath realignment, and increased biodiversity efforts, including kingfisher boxes.

Read more about it here.

Thank you for reading. I'll see you in November!

Ciao,

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