The percentage of people privately renting in the UK has jumped from 13% to 20% over the past 10 years, with home ownership dwindling.
A new CBRE report has provided an overview of the UK's private rental market, highlighting Belfast as one of the UK cities outside London with the highest demand for private rental housing. The rental figures are expected to climb over the next several years as rates of home ownership continue to fall, but new rental housing isn't being built in Belfast in sufficient quantities.
The research looked at the percentage of households in privately rented accomodation across the UK and how it's evolved over the past several years, using official statistics from the UK Government's Office of National Statistics. It also found that over £10bn has been invested into "multifamily" housing containing multiple flats and build-to-rent properties sold to professional landlords over the past five years.
Around 110,000 build-to-rent homes are reportedly under construction or in the planning stages, and CBRE suggests that an additional 40,000 could be added with the right investment conditions. While around 50% of build-to-rent homes are in London, Belfast was noted as one of the highest demand areas for rental that could see considerable expansion.
CBRE Senior Director of Capital Markets Robert Ditty commented on the lack of investment in Belfast's rental market: "Growing volumes of institutional investment into UK build-to-rent over the last five years is transforming the private rented sector in London and regional cities, but it has yet to make a mark in Belfast. Now is the time to invest here as the fundamentals are positive and there is still an opportunity for first mover advantage. While there are no build-to-rent schemes currently under construction, we anticipate a number getting underway in 2020."
Source: CBRE Report
