TDM’s Residential Property Industry Predictions for 2018
Welcome to TDM’s first blog of 2018.
Naturally as we look towards the year ahead of us everyone will be thinking positive, prosperous thoughts.
For those working in the Residential Property Industry 2017 proved a year of major ups and downs, usually with the words “Brexit” mentioned somewhere.
The team at TDM have therefore put significant thought and compiled below a list of the Top 5 Predictions for what 2018 will bring for the Residential Property Market.
- House Building to Reach Record Levels in 2018
- Replacement for Help to Buy
- Construction sector demand to increase
- Increase in Affordable Modular Homes
- A Top 10 PLC Merger
Last year proved that the industry was beginning to get close to pre-crash levels of house building starts and completions.
The Government has taken major measures to help streamline the planning process to ensure developments hit the building stage quicker than ever before, this is of course essential when combined with some of the most ambitious housebuilding targets ever set.
Additionally, if focused specifically on London then the changes by Sadiq Kahn should enable a wave of new developments to help meet the housing demand in the region.
The major PLC housebuilding companies have seen Help to Buy massively help boost the sales of many developments. The Government will need another “policy weapon” to keep the momentum within the industry to build houses, and meet the 2020 housebuilding targets.
Furthermore, obviously Help to Buy has helped a sizable proportion of the population achieve the opportunity to buy their own property.
The construction sector is facing a sea of different threats which have combined to create a major shortage of skills. At TDM we are already seeing a considerable number of requests from clients for more construction skills as more New Homes Developments begin and the nation’s new major infrastructure projects begin.
2017 saw a major uplift in the numbers of affordable homes being planned or constructed. Many of these homes were modular in nature allowing for faster assembly when on site at the development following major elements being completed elsewhere in a factory. One of the major players in this area being Legal & General who aim to build 70,000 homes in 10 years.
Possibly more controversial, but very few major industry mergers have been completed since the financial crash (although obviously the sale of Bovis was looking very likely in early 2017).
Our MD Tom Morris has his cards set on either Cala Homes or Redrow being snapped up.
Is the Industry overdue anther major PLC merger? Who do you think will be involved?