House building in city at a six-year high

HOUSE building in Manchester is at its highest rate for six years with 9,000 new homes expected to complete by the end of 2018/19.

But just-released data reveals that a continued increase in population, coupled with years of under supply means even the current building boom will fail to meet demand.

And while by 2019 the pipeline comes closer to fulfilling rental and buyer demand the city will remain consistently under supplied by more than 2,000 units a year – more than 1,000 of those needed in the city centre alone.

Manchester Place chief executive Paul Beardmore presented the analysis of the current housing boom pipeline and the long-term demand during a Business Showcase session at MIPIM UK.

He said: “While we are currently seeing large scale residential development, primarily in the city centre, we are a long way from being at capacity.

“All the forward looking data indicates that Manchester will continue to have a shortfall of housing and we need to ensure a steady supply chain for decades to come to support continued economic growth.

“What we have at the moment is chronic under-supply and when the developments currently under construction come to market they will simply mop up this latent demand.”

And the data shows that while entry-level stock could be absorbed by 2020 the need for mid range and premium stock will continue to be un-met up to 2024 and beyond.

Beardmore added: “It is very clear both from the research and from seeing the market first hand that there is pent up demand from both owner occupiers looking for high quality homes in the city to purchase and from renters looking for a quality rental product.

“There is an opportunity to expand the city centre market into surrounding areas such as the Irk Valley, Holt Town and Lower Medlock to accommodate quality homes for sale and rent.”