A wide range of people move into London’s new residential developments, from wealthy global buyers in search of luxurious city living to young households on graduate starter salaries renting flats in the vibrant thick of it. Noticeably, however, those moving out of new-build property in the capital are disproportionately likely to be families with children.

We’ve known for years that London isn’t building enough homes. Now our latest analysis shows it is also failing to build homes that meet residents’ changing needs.

We estimate that around 42,000 London households move out of a new-build property every year and, of these, most of them – 30,000 – stay in the city. But four out of five ‘remainers’ move to older, existing housing stock, meaning developers are missing out on a significant 23,500-strong pool of potential customers.

But why?

We found 32 per cent of households moving out of London new-build properties have children compared with only 16 per cent of those moving within the new homes sector. Households living in new-build homes also tend to be younger than those in second hand properties.

Although flats constitute the vast majority of London’s new homes supply (high land values require high density for viability), there is a greater proportion of larger flats than in other UK cities. So size isn’t necessarily the issue and nor is budget. Households leaving new-build homes have incomes 10 per cent higher on average than those staying.

Generally speaking, developers prefer one and two-bedroom flats – the more bedrooms there are, the higher the capital value, the less attractive it is to investors and the longer it can take to sell. What three and four-bedroom units are being delivered are frequently built simply to comply with planning which requires a certain proportion of a development to be for family living. Our research, and the success of some notable schemes, suggests families are looking for something else.

Developers should consider more storage, parking, the ability to divide space, easy access for buggies, outdoor amenities and, ideally, room for indoor play. Convenience – one of the most compelling reasons to buy a new property – is key. Life needs to be made easier, not harder, through practical design and thoughtful management in order to appeal to what is currently a missing market.

• Listen to the heads of Savills Residential Development Consultancy, Tor Jones-Davies and Tom Mann, discussing the findings of the report 
  
  

Further information 

Contact Katy Warrick