Knight Frank has released its Single Family Housing (SFH) 2025 report, revealing that last year saw a record 31 SFH deals completed nationwide, up 24% year-on-year and more than double the level in 2022.
The sector has experienced what the agency calls “extraordinary growth” and its expansion is evident in its share of total Build to Rent (BTR) deal volumes, which has surged from just 2% in 2020 to 43% in 2024.
According to Knight Frank, investment into SFH reached £1.8 billion last year, taking the total to more than £4.4 billion invested since 2020. Due to this significant influx of capital, SFH is now being developed in 132 local authorities across the UK, with a growing body of evidence demonstrating the sector’s ability to deliver in diverse markets nationwide.
The current UK pipeline includes 14,353 complete and operational SFH homes across 212 schemes, with a further 11,262 units under construction. In 2024 alone, more than 3,000 SFH homes were completed.
The firm notes that the substantial surge in both investment and development over the last two years from a standing start demonstrates the pivotal role institutional investment into SFH can play in addressing the UK’s housing supply challenges.
Jack Hutchinson, a Partner in the Residential Investments team at Knight Frank said: “The size of the opportunity within single family housing is immense. With 3.1 million renters already living in suburban households across the UK, and just 0.2% of current privately rented homes operated by institutional investors, we’re only scratching the surface.
“Our projections suggest the market could absorb more than 1 million SFH homes at full maturity. Given the size of the demand pool, we expect SFH delivery to eventually overtake multifamily as the market continues to evolve.”
In 2024, 48% of SFH transactions were forward commitments, up from 24% in 2023 and equal to the number of forward funds agreed over the year. Just 3% of deals were for stabilised portfolios.
Last year 71% of total spend was targeted at the South East and East of England, up from nothing in 2021.
Hutchinson concluded: “This presents a strategic opportunity for institutional investors to take a leading role in housing delivery, as housebuilders increasingly adopt multi-tenure approaches across their portfolios.”
The report identifies growing international investor appetite, with £1.06 million of cross-border capital invested in SFH in 2024 alone – a 45% year-on-year increase.
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