Investment in Build to Rent sector hits all-time high

Investment into the Build to Rent sector reached a record high in 2018, as corporate landlords continued to tap into healthy demand for rented property in the UK.

Almost £4bn of new funds was allocated to the Build to Rent sector last year, according to Bidwells Build to Rent Summer 2019 Analysis.

The analysis had found almost two-fifths of these transactions were forward funded as investors seek scale in key investment locations.

Bidwells has indicated the total funds committed over the past two years will be brought up to £6bn.

Recent research by Savills predicted the Build to Rent market will soon account for a third of the private rental market.

A separate study by ideal flatmate, which looked at the cost of Build to Rent compared to the buy-to-let market, found that the average cost of renting a room in a Build to Rent development is 15% higher than the cost of renting in the buy-to-let market - £868 per calendar month (pcm) on average compared to £752pcm.

Of those Build to Rent developments that are more expensive, costs range from 4% to 44% more than their comparative local rental markets.

But ideal flatmate points out that the cost renting in a Build to Rent development often includes bills, gym memberships, parking, among other benefits.

Co-founder of ideal flatmate, Tom Gatzen, said: “Build to rent provides a great solution when it comes to providing more homes at scale and while change will always be met by a degree of criticism by the industry, we must surely focus on the need of the tenant first and embrace anything that helps provide more roofs over heads.”

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