VIDEO | What will the housing market of the future look like? 

The continued ‘hotel-ification’ of the residential sector, ground-breaking technological advancements, and new ideas around design are all shaping what the next generation of homes will look like, according to speakers at a roundtable discussion hosted by ClearFibre.

Participants

• Victoria Russell, Property Alliance Group 
• Ian Scott, Martin Property Group 
• Jeremy Hinds, Savills 
• Jonathan England, Northstone 
• Jonny Whiteley, Casa by Moda 
• Catalina Ionita, Chapman Taylor 
• Rez Duncan, ClearFibre 
• John Leutton, Intelligent Building Group 

Key talking points 

Participants warned that housing delivery in 2023 would be impacted by ongoing market volatility, which is likely to give developers pause when it comes to making a start on new residential schemes. 

This will worsen the current supply and demand imbalance, driving rents and house prices up in the short to medium term, according to the panel. 

The rising cost of living means that the number of people buying homes will continue to decrease as the younger demographic, unable to afford deposits, is forced to rent. 

This, in turn, will lead to an increase and improvement of rental stock, including more BTR in the suburbs, and an added emphasis on customer service, aimed at attracting and keeping tenants, the panellists said. 

Sustainability was highlighted as another key driver shaping the homes of the future. Changes in how homes are designed, the introduction of new technology, and a better grasp of data will lead to increased energy efficiency. 

However, participants pointed out that building new green homes was only part of the battle and that more needs to be done to retrofit properties that already exist. 

The discussion was hosted by Place North West senior reporter Dan Whelan, and held at Property Alliance Group’s Oxygen development in Manchester. 

Highlights from the roundtable can be seen in the video at the top of this article, as well as on the Place North West YouTube channel.