South dominates for high growth new build locations

Nearly three out of four of England’s fastest growing local authority districts for new build developments are located in London or the South East, analysis by Paragon Development Finance has revealed.

Analysis of Government data shows that 14 out of the 20 local authorities that saw the greatest increase in new build housing completions in the past year were in the capital or wider South East. The number increased to 16 when you included broader southern regions, including the South West and the East of England.

Richmond-upon-Thames in Surrey recorded the greatest percentage increase in new build completions during the year to 31 March 2021 when compared to the same period the previous year. Completions rose 272% to 931 homes during the period.

Redbridge in Essex recorded a 171% increase in new build completions to 1,522, whilst Guildford in Surrey was up 158% to 859 homes. New homes in Trafford, Manchester totalled 932, up 143%, whilst Newcastle Under Lyme also made it into the top 10 with a 98% increase in completions to 611.

At the other end of the scale, Lewisham in London recorded the greatest percentage fall, down 89% to 131 homes, with Halton (-78%), Norwich (78%), Coventry (-73%) and Worthing (-73%) also down.

Overall, new build homes completed in the period in England fell 11% to 194,063 as it coincided with when Covid-19 first hit development sites.

In terms of the areas with the highest level of housing completions, Manchester topped the list at 3,840 (down -1.8%), followed by Birmingham at 3,350 (-15%). Tower Hamlets recorded 3,248 new homes (-28%), with Salford and Leeds completing 3,142 and 2,509 homes respectively (-19% and -19%).

Robert Orr, Paragon Development Finance Managing Director, said: “Although overall completion levels fell during the period, this reflects a time when it was more difficult for building sites to operate. We saw our clients quickly return to full operation within weeks of the first lockdown, so I would expect completions next year to return to their upward trajectory.

“Looking at a more granular level, it is interesting to see homes in the outer London boroughs and the broader South East increase at a faster rate than other locations across the country. This plays well to more people looking for greater levels of space or greenery and I would be interested to see how this plays out across the rest of the country next year as developers respond to changing buyer demands.”