Build To Rent specialist Ascend Properties says latest data on the sector shows that across the UK some 36,054 BTR units are currently in the pipeline – that’s a 1.8 per cent drop year on year.

In London, there are 16,227 BTR units currently under construction in 2021, a year on year decline of 8.2 per cent. Elsewhere across the UK, the number of BTR units currently in the process of delivery has climbed 4.1 per cent.

In total, the 36,054 UK wide BTR units currently under construction, worth some £10.9 billion to the Build to Rent market. With new build property values higher in London, Ascend estimates those units currently under construction to add an additional £8.1 billion.

This equates to a 7.5 per cent drop in the total value of the capital’s BTR pipeline on a year to year basis. 

In contrast, the BTR pipeline across the rest of the UK is estimated to be worth £5.7 billion – a nine per cent uplift on an annual basis.

Ged MacPartlin, Ascend’s managing director, says: “The strength of the BTR sector goes beyond the number of units being delivered to market and so it’s important that we also consider those currently under construction as an indicator of future sector performance.

“In this respect, the strength of the sector is pretty evident as despite the uncertainty posed by the pandemic, BTR construction is down less than two per cent in 2021 when compared to the same time last year just as Covid was taking hold.”