Q1 number of construction starts falls 87% year on year
Recent Datscha’s data shows that the Q1 2021 number of new construction starts was 60 per cent down compared to Q1 2020 and 78 per cent down compared to Q1 2019.
Despite that, there is a remarkable 128% increase in that figure compared to Q4 2020.
Greater London and Midlands had the most of new development projects (6 in each area) in the first quarter of 2021, which is a decrease of approximately 85 and 73 per cent respectively compared to Q1 2020.
There are 170 developments planned to be finished in 2021. They include 78 residential objects, 29 offices, 27 hotels, 22 industrial sites, 10 retirement and care projects, and 4 retail business constructions.
Around 117 and some 46 constructions are expected to be completed in 2022 and 2023 respectively, followed by 16 and 5 in 2024 and 2025, with a noticeable dominance of residential and industrial projects.
Tom Leahy from Real Capital Analytics says: “The sectors that are most in demand from occupiers and therefore from institutional capital are industrial and residential.”
He continues: “The investment market for offices has been very slow, but I think most developers see the great post-Covid divide.
“Big tenants will shift towards better-quality space that has excellent environmental credentials, while the lower-quality stock may be left behind.
“This scenario creates a case for development of new stock to fit these requirements.”
Data of Datscha is based on independent reports of properties and portfolios worth £4.3m+.