Now restrictions implemented at the height of the pandemic have largely eased and an economic recovery is underway, the UK’s residential property sector, which has remained buoyant throughout the pandemic, is helping to fuel one of the fastest recoveries in Europe.

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During lockdown, measures to suppress the contraction of the market, such as various business support schemes, the stamp duty holiday and extensions to Help to Buy, have worked, and ultimately, the fundamental need for high quality housing has remained extremely high.

With demand at such levels, it is no wonder that in 2020 we achieved a record forward order book, up 23% to £1.432m, and despite the challenges our teams on the ground faced amid the pandemic, we delivered over 4,000 new, completed homes across the country.

Indeed, transaction levels this year have consistently broken records – boosting our recovery and the Treasury’s coffers. Figures by Knight Frank reveal that the sale of 100,000 existing homes, contributes a net gain of almost £1bn to the UK’s GDP. This figure of course does not account for the many new build homes that are sold every day, or include money raised via jobs, and corporation tax from the vast number of businesses that operate in the sector. Knight Frank estimates that 11,557 jobs are supported by the industry, but the true figure is likely to be far greater, when the wider ecosystem, including building contractors and supply chains are factored in.

Our ambition of delivering 10,000 homes will help to meet the record demand for new homes and subsequently drive the economy, through investment in local areas and the creation of new jobs. Many of our schemes are at the heart of local communities and are an invaluable source of investment for their areas. Delivered alongside new homes, the community and commercial facilities and amenities we provide, creates more services and employment for local people. The hiring of local apprentices to help deliver new homes and neighbourhoods, provides yet further opportunities for those living in the community.

However, the creation of new communities and homes cannot be achieved without strong partnerships. Collaboration between parties joins up knowledge and resource and improves the effectiveness of design and delivery strategies.

Establishing a supportive network is key to achieving high levels of local employment and training during delivery, as well as development practices that help the growth of communities, and the provision of sustainable employment opportunities. An approach that brings the expertise of local authorities, landowners, developers, housing associations and investors together is truly fundamental to building successful communities.

Indeed, the building of desirable new places to live, not only helps to address our acute housing shortage but will also help to continue to power our recovery. It is this view that drew us to participating in the UKREiiF conference next year. UKREiiF’s ambition to foster enhanced collaboration is one that can facilitate better property investment decisions in the months and years ahead.

Collaboration between parties will not only improve the outcomes of our projects and help ensure the places we create are where people want to live, work and ultimately love, but also boost our economy at such an important time in our history.

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