The number of units being approved rose by 1% in the last quarter of 2018, according to a report by Glenigan.
Glenigan a trusted construction market analysis provider, the report shows that the number of units approved during the fourth quarter of 2018 rose by only 1% against the previous three months of the same year but was 10% lower than 2017.
We have seen a year on year decline driven by a 5% drop in the number of private housing units approved and a 19% fall in units on social housing projects.
In 2018, the UK saw 150 social housing projects (with three or more units) drop by 11% against the previous quarter and 29% lower than in Q4 2017.
Source: Glenigan
At 9,980, there was a sharp 51% rise in the number of social housing units approved against the preceding quarter, but unit approvals were 19% lower than a year ago. Unit approvals were lower in London, South West, North West and Yorkshire & the Humber, in contrast, unit approvals in the North-East and South-East were up 7% and 11% respectively against a year earlier.
In general, this is influencing a lot of new build residential schemes due to the lack of planning approval, which in turn is making investors and developers sit on their hands to see what’s going to happen next. The effect of a buoyant 2017 and the ongoing saga with Brexit is putting large numbers of people off investing in new developments until they know the outcome of the exit from the European Union and what this is going to do to the weakening British pound.
We are seeing more developers try to take advantage of this situation and pushing the boundaries with planning. However, there are still a large number of sites that are not beginning or being left unfinished, like what happened with Crest Nicholson on the King Alfred redevelopment in Hove. We will continue to see private developers walking away from working with public organisations if the deal doesn’t stack up.
