UK Living Conference 2025: Key Insights and Market Trends

Recently we attended the UK Living Conference - a fantastic event of LD Events, featuring insightful panel discussions and an excellent opportunity to reconnect with industry experts and discuss the future of the UK Living sector.
Here are some of our key takeaways on the current trends shaping the market:

UK Living Market Fundamentals

UK Living sector fundamentals remain exceptionally strong, with a current value of approximately £212bn (+45% since 2020). However, a combination of planning system failures, economic pressures, labour shortages, and regulatory uncertainty has brought the development pipeline close to a standstill. New home delivery is set to fall sharply, while the time from planning application to start on site has increased by 56% since 2015, making the viability of new schemes increasingly challenging.

Built to Rent (BTR): Scaling Up Amidst Fragmentation

Built to Rent (BTR) is still at an early stage in the UK, with just over 140,000 operational homes nationwide - a relatively small share of the Private Rented Sector (PRS) compared to over 50% penetration in some US cities. While the sector remains highly fragmented, it is evolving, with a growing focus on accessible, no-frills BTR models targeting the mid-market. This shift is expected to help developers and operators scale more rapidly, improve operational efficiency, and position the market for consolidation ahead of the next wave of new home delivery. Notably, Single Family Homes (SFH) are gaining traction, accounting for 49% of H1 2025 BTR investment volume.

Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA): Resilient Demand

Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) continues to demonstrate resilience, driven by strong student demand both nationally and internationally. With over 30 UK institutions ranked within the world’s top 300 universities, student numbers are projected to reach 2.7 million by 2030, underpinning the sector’s long-term fundamentals. At the same time, technological advancements, a challenging graduate job market, and more flexible teaching models (including remote learning) are reshaping the market, prompting more flexible lettings and requiring operators to maintain year-round marketing.

Later Living: An Emerging Opportunity

Later Living represents a growing opportunity, supported by £3.5 trillion of housing wealth among the 65+ cohort by 2035. Yet, supply is lagging, with only around 8,000 senior housing units delivered annually, compared to a fast-rising 75+ population of 6.1 million. At NIBC, we continue to monitor this sub-sector closely and are actively looking for the right opportunity to enter.

At NIBC, we maintain strong conviction in the Living sector, with our primary focus on BTR and PBSA. We look forward to collaborating with the wider industry to overcome current challenges and contribute to the delivery of much-needed new homes.