- 70% increase in pipeline size since last year
- Total floor area of new development equivalent to size of Stratford Olympic Park
The annual EC Harris ‘London Prime Residential Development Pipeline’ report shows that 125 schemes are currently at various stages of site acquisition, planning and construction equating to a total floor area of nearly 20 million square feet, equivalent to the size of the Olympic Park in East London. This is an increase of approximately 70 per cent from last year’s report,
Planned development is strongest in Chelsea & Fulham with one in four (25 per cent) of the units in the pipeline located there, this is followed by developments on the South Bank (17 per cent), City and Fringe ( 12 oer cebt), Midtown (11 per cent) and Kensington (10 per cent).
2016 appears to be the peak year for delivery, with schemes totalling circa 3,800 units in a race to progress and come to market in that year alone. Two of the largest schemes on the pipeline are the major regeneration schemes planned for Earls Court and Battersea Power Station, each predicted to deliver several hundred prime residential units over the course of the next decade, reflecting that ‘prime’ is no longer confined to the likes of Mayfair or Chelsea.
Mark Farmer, Head of Residential at EC Harris said: “The size of the pipeline is a reflection of a massive vote of confidence in London and in UK plc and will have only been enhanced by this summer’s Olympics showcase. London prime residential continues to act as a magnet for global investment, and offers clear opportunities for properly organised and funded developers and investors to generate healthy returns. However, this positivity is tempered by some notes of caution. There are significant risks to the realisation of the pipeline including the sustainability of the unprecedented levels of international investor and sales demand fuelling the lower end of the prime market, a lack of development funding and a scalability of specialist development skills needed to deliver these opportunities.”
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