According to the British Property Federation, there are currently 167,853 build-to-rent properties in the UK that are either completed, under construction, or in the planning stages, a 22 percent increase over the same period previous year.

According to the findings, the number of completed build-to-rent homes increased by 37% between Q2 2019 and Q2 2020, while the number under construction declined by 5% and the number in planning increased by 27%.

While the sector is planning for future growth, with a significant increase in the number of build-to-rent homes in the planning stage compared to a year ago, the number of starts and completions fell sharply from Q1 to Q2 2020.

Build to rent in 2020

In the first quarter of 2020, the sector saw 4,297 starts and 3,417 completions, but in the second quarter, just 1,827 starts and 1,640 completions were recorded.

Experts including the letting agents in Gloucestershire agree that while professional investment corporations often fund build-to-rent and manage the development throughout time, today’s data demonstrates the breakdown of the many sorts of organisations that are responsible for the construction of new dwellings.

Local developers are currently responsible for 28% of the market, with the rest made up of UK housebuilders (27%), big UK developers (17%), contractors (14%), registered providers (9%), and major overseas developers (3%).

According to research, investor confidence in build-to-rent housing is still high, with the sector pledging to provide more new, high-quality rental homes in the UK today than it did a year ago.

The sector will play a critical part in assisting the government’s ambitious objectives to ‘level up’ the country’s regions and in fostering a shared recovery in which more people across the country, whether they choose or need to rent, will have a greater selection of rental properties to choose from.

According to Savills, a rise in the number of new homes purchased for buy-to-let and other property investment will aid developers in recovering from the Help To Buy scheme’s end,

Build-to rent going forward.

It’s possible that the constriction sector will struggle to meet demand from investors and others. Despite the impending end of Help to Buy, there is still a strong demand for new homes, and we expect the supply of affordable and private rental stock to increase to cover the void left by Help to Buy.

However, a dearth of sufficient permitted land is limiting developers’ and investors’ capacity to create additional dwellings. More consents in high-demand areas must be delivered on a consistent basis.

According to Savills’ newest housing market projection, housebuilding volumes will not rebound to pre-pandemic levels until 2016, and even then, deliveries would be 60,000 behind the government’s aim of 300,000 homes per year.

The number of dwellings delivered peaked in 2019/20 at 220,000, then dropped to 190,000 in 2020/21. In 2021/2, volumes are predicted to drop to 180,000, with only 2026 bringing them back to 2019/20 levels.

Housebuilders began to anticipate the conclusion of the Help to Buy scheme, moving their focus to smaller sites that could be completed before the end of the plan.

In addition, sites that have been granted approval have tended to be in lower-demand markets, with supply in high-demand areas being severely limited.

The government’s renewed commitment to building additional homes in the country’s north suggests that this is unlikely to alter, according to the agency.

Only the Build to Rent segment of the private housing market is expected to grow significantly in 2025/26 compared to 2019/20. “ Between 2016/17 and 2019/20, delivery increased from 7,000 to 14,000 units.

A further doubling would result in 30,000 homes being finished in five years or 14% of all new dwellings completed in 2025/6. There may be potential for the sector to grow further, and tenant demand is certainly high.

Sigma Capital  proves Build to Rent Can Help Target Lower-Income Renters

BTR was approached differently by Sigma Capital. Sigma proceeded to drive this trend ahead by using both private vehicles and a REIT designed to acquire completed assets (PRS REIT, which has a market capitalisation of around £500 million).

It now has a portfolio of 7,173 units, with about 2,500 completed, 1,500 in the works, and 3,000 in the pipeline. It aims to sell 20,000 units.

Sigma creates and then rents single-family complexes that target the lower-income portion of the residential rental market, whereas many BTR developments are constructed to attract tenants with a higher rental budget than what is considered “average.”