Analysis of the total new-build completions over the last year found that build-to-rent has become an increasing focus of the new-build sector. In fact, last year, 7,123 new rental homes came via the build-to-rent sector, a 25% uplift on the volume of build-to-rent completions seen in 2020. This growth is some 7% higher than the increase seen in total new-build completions during the same period.
As a result, build-to-rent completions accounted for 7.2% of all new-build homes delivered last year, up from 6.8% the previous year.
However, the sector's impact has been far greater in London. The 21,000 new homes delivered in the capital in 2021 account for just 10% of the UK total. The 7,123 build-to-rent completions, on the other hand, account for just shy of half (48%) of the national total.
As a result, build-to-rent completions accounted for 34% of all new-build delivery across London in 2021, with this market share increasing from 29.2% the year before.
This growth has been more muted elsewhere around the UK, with build-to-rent market share increasing from 4.1% to 4.2% between 2020 and 2021.
Ahmed Gamal, founder and CEO of Rentd, commented: “The new-build sector has evolved to deliver more than just bricks and mortar, with the lifestyle offering provided by new-build developments becoming as pivotal to their appeal as the property itself.
"So it’s hardly surprising that this focus on better quality living to suit the modern resident has transferred so well to the rental sector and, in fact, it’s more surprising that it’s taken so long to happen.
"Despite its relative infancy, the build-to-rent sector has grown rapidly and there’s no doubt it will continue to do so over the coming years, as it becomes a greater area of focus for the nation’s housebuilders.
"Of course, we remain a nation of aspirational homebuyers and so while more of us are choosing to rent until later in life, we’re unlikely to see build-to-rent eradicate this appetite to own our own homes entirely. But the sector does provide a fantastic alternative for the smaller proportion of the population who prefer the flexibility and easier freedom of movement that renting can provide.”
