"Our research highlights that developers are already prioritising new builds, particularly in towns and city suburbs, with many highlighting the popularity of this property type with buyers"
- Terry Woodley - Shawbrook
With Labour unveiling its new housing plans, new research has found that developers are already prioritising new builds in urban locations as popularity grows amongst buyers.
Research from Shawbrook found that 77% of property developers feel that new builds are increasing in popularity and are already prioritising new builds in urban locations as a result. However, planning permission could be an issue for accelerating stock.
The research, which comes as Labour unveils its plan for housing as part of its party conference, revealed that when it comes to the priority of property types, newly built residential properties in suburbs or towns are the highest priority for developers (64%), with a majority of 63% agreeing that buyers don’t care whether their property is built on greenfield or brownfield sites.
However, rising costs continue to be a concern for many developers. Over the past 12 months, rising labour costs have been the biggest concern or challenge for 2 in 5 developers (38%), while 27% said that obtaining planning permission was a challenge.
Terry Woodley, MD of Development Finance at Shawbrook comments: “After a year of challenges for the property market, developers will be looking for a fresh perspective and new ideas to confront the age-old issue of supply and demand.
"Our research highlights that developers are already prioritising new builds, particularly in towns and city suburbs, with many highlighting the popularity of this property type with buyers. One reason is the energy efficiency of new properties.
"While ambitious plans are important, the challenges in the market remain very real for developers and with rising costs across the board, we need to ensure that any promised development is affordable not only for the end-buyer but for those building them.
"While funding will continue to be a key part of the puzzle, more detail would be needed should Labour’s plans come to fruition.”
