The London development market is very different to other UK cities. New development in London is overwhelmingly flats: 92% of sales between 2017 and 2019 in London were flats, compared to 31% in Greater Manchester, and 35% in Birmingham.

This is due to the type of sites available for development, where high land values require high density to make schemes more viable. However, of those flats, London does deliver more larger sized flats, of over 900 sq. ft., than other cities. Clearly, these other cities are providing larger sized accommodation in the form of houses instead.

Earlier in this report we identified that households with children in particular are leaving new build properties, even if they have lived in new build homes before. This suggests that despite larger sized flats being built in London, they don’t seem to be meeting the needs of these households. Just 12% of London flats over 900 sq. ft. sold over the last three years are occupied by households with children.

However, it is possible for developers to adapt their strategy to tap into this underserved demand in the market, whether that be through targeted sales and marketing, or in refining the product accordingly.

On the following page (The missing markets), seven our Development Consultancy team have looked at how developers could widen the appeal for families, without discouraging other buyer types.

Case study: Television Centre, White City

Television Centre (TVC), the anchor to regeneration in White City, has attracted a very wide range of buyers – investors, first-time buyers, upsizers, families and downsizers, both domestic and international. TVC did not set out with the intent to appeal to all of these groups, but had the clear vision to design homes that people could live in comfortably. This meant more generous apartments, with plentiful storage, generous outside space and functional, ergonomic design. Amenities sought to encourage a community to develop within the building.

The attraction of families to this development is particularly interesting for us. TVC is an urban, highly mixed-use scheme, with office and entertainment uses very much part of everyday life – it is busy, not a scheme you would naturally expect families to move to. Yet throughout the building you see babies, toddlers, children doing homework, teens in the screening room and even in the gym. Proof, we feel, that if you design a product with variety and that is more involving and interesting, your market appeal is much wider, more enduring and sustainable.

_{Read the articles within Spotlight: The Missing Markets below.}