After a very slow second quarter of 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the housing market in the United Kingdom (UK) experienced dramatic surge in home sales. In the first quarter of 2021, the residential property supply varied between *** and *** months of available stock for sale in different regions of the UK, and *** months in Inner London. Considering the limited supply and the spike in demand, house prices have been on an upward trend.

This statistic illustrates the total availability of office real estate in the West End of London, the United Kingdom (UK) from 2017 to 2018, broken down by the type of property. It can be seen that a larger share of available office properties were secondhand, with a total of nearly *** million square feet of secondhand office properties being available in 2019. As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, office availability has been growing in all areas of Cetral London.

The UK office real estate market, valued at approximately £X million in 2025 (estimated based on provided CAGR and market size), is experiencing robust growth, projected to maintain a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) exceeding 6% through 2033. Key drivers include a recovering economy, increasing demand from technology and financial sectors, and ongoing investment in infrastructure projects across major cities like London, Birmingham, and Manchester. The rise of flexible workspaces and a focus on sustainable building practices are significant trends shaping the market. However, challenges remain, such as Brexit's lingering effects on international investment and the potential for increased vacancy rates in certain submarkets due to shifting workplace strategies. The sector is highly competitive, with major players like JLL, Knight Frank, CBRE, and others vying for market share. London continues to dominate, but other major cities are witnessing increased activity, fueled by regional economic growth and government initiatives to decentralize business activity. The long-term outlook remains positive, with continued growth anticipated, although the pace might fluctuate depending on macroeconomic conditions and evolving tenant demands. This dynamic market is segmented geographically, with London, Birmingham, and Manchester representing significant hubs. The concentration of businesses in these cities, combined with their robust infrastructure and accessibility, contributes to their strong performance. While the "Other Cities" segment exhibits considerable growth potential, its overall contribution currently remains smaller than the major metropolitan areas. The competitive landscape is defined by large multinational firms and regional players who engage in both development and brokerage activities, reflecting the market’s complexities and opportunities. This competitive intensity drives innovation and necessitates continuous adaptation to shifts in demand and technology. The ongoing evolution of workspace design, encompassing sustainable practices and flexible arrangements, further shapes the market's trajectory. Recent developments include: April 2022: Taking the opportunity to rethink its workplace approach throughout the pandemic, Avison Young used its London Gresham Street office to create two pilot spaces-one transformed and one legacy floor that remained unaltered-to compare the effect of different layouts and amenities. While employees in Avison Young's London office were already working in an agile way before the disruption of COVID-19, the newly configured floor underwent a transformation to an activity-based model., January 2022: IWG, the world's leading provider of workspace, is introducing electric vehicle (EV) chargers across a number of its locations in the United Kingdom to help the nation's hybrid workforce operate more sustainably. IWG is installing EV charging points at a number of its office locations in the United Kingdom to support members' sustainable choices.. Notable trends are: Declining Vacancy Rates and Increasing Rents of Office Spaces in London.

House prices in the UK rose dramatically during the coronavirus pandemic, with growth slowing down in 2022 and turning negative in 2023. The year-on-year annual house price change peaked at 14 percent in July 2022. In April 2025, house prices increased by 3.5 percent. As of late 2024, the average house price was close to 290,000 British pounds. Correction in housing prices: a European phenomenon The trend of a growing residential real estate market was not exclusive to the UK during the pandemic. Likewise, many European countries experienced falling prices in 2023. When comparing residential property RHPI (price index in real terms, e.g. corrected for inflation), countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain also saw prices decline. Sweden, one of the countries with the fastest growing residential markets, saw one of the largest declines in prices. How has demand for UK housing changed since the outbreak of the coronavirus? The easing of the lockdown was followed by a dramatic increase in home sales. In November 2020, the number of mortgage approvals reached an all-time high of over 107,000. One of the reasons for the housing boom were the low mortgage rates, allowing home buyers to take out a loan with an interest rate as low as 2.5 percent. That changed as the Bank of England started to raise the base lending rate, resulting in higher borrowing costs and a decline in homebuyer sentiment.

This statistic illustrates the total availability of office real estate in the London City area, the United Kingdom (UK), from 2018 to 2019, broken down by the type of property. It can be seen that a larger share of available office properties were second-hand, with a total of approximately *** million square feet of second-hand office properties being available in 2019 and only **** million square feet of new or refurbished properties. As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, office availability has been growing in all areas of Cetral London.

This document forms part of the REDEFINE research project (ERC Grant No. 885475), funded by the European Research Council. REDEFINE focuses on the dynamics and effects of China’s large-scale infrastructure investments in Europe, with a focus on Germany, Greece, Hungary, and the UK. Through multi-sited fieldwork and interdisciplinary analysis, the project seeks to understand the evolving relations between China and Europe and to assess what this means for politics, economic growth and development more broadly.This anonymised interview note presents a semi-structured interview conducted with the former ABP management representative P22 (2nd). The conversation contributes to REDEFINE’s case study of ABP’s investment in Royal Albert Dock. All identifying details have been removed, and informed consent for participation and data use was obtained.

According to a survey among CFOs in the real estate sector, keeping construction sites open during the coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions has been one of the main challenges for new construction in Central London in the beginning of 2020. While in the beginning of 2019, a considerable share of the CFOs were neutral or optimistic about the development of the commercial lettings market. In the first quarter of 2020, all of them shared that their perception about the market compared with six months before was that it got worse or much worse.

As of the third quarter of 2020, rental prices have decreased both on an annual and ********* basis. While larger properties saw higher negative rental growth over the past five years, they were less impacted compared with the same quarter of 2019. This highlights one of the effects that the coronavirus crisis has had on rental demand: people are looking for larger properties. Another insight from the prime London market shows outside space also plays a role in driving residential prices.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of house sales in the UK spiked, followed by a period of decline. In 2023 and 2024, the housing market slowed notably, and in January 2025, transaction volumes fell to 46,774. House sales volumes are impacted by a number of factors, including mortgage rates, house prices, supply, demand, as well as the overall health of the market. The economic uncertainty and rising unemployment rates has also affected the homebuyer sentiment of Brits. How have UK house prices developed over the past 10 years? House prices in the UK have increased year-on-year since 2015, except for a brief period of decline in the second half of 2023 and the beginning of 2024. That is based on the 12-month percentage change of the UK house price index. At the peak of the housing boom in 2022, prices soared by nearly 14 percent. The decline that followed was mild, at under three percent. The cooling in the market was more pronounced in England and Wales, where the average house price declined in 2023. Conversely, growth in Scotland and Northern Ireland continued. What is the impact of mortgage rates on house sales? For a long period, mortgage rates were at record-low, allowing prospective homebuyers to take out a 10-year loan at a mortgage rate of less than three percent. In the last quarter of 2021, this period came to an end as the Bank of England rose the bank lending rate to contain the spike in inflation. Naturally, the higher borrowing costs affected consumer sentiment, urging many homebuyers to place their plans on hold and leading to a decline in sales.

This statistic illustrates the total availability of office real estate in the Canary Wharf area of London, the United Kingdom (UK), from 2018 to 2019, broken down by the type of property. It can be seen that a larger share of available office properties were secondhand at that time, with a total of nearly *********** square feet of secondhand office properties being available in 2019. As a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, office availability has been growing in all areas of Cetral London.

As of the third quarter of 2020, residential land value in Central London saw a negative change both on annual and on six-month basis. In comparison, land value in Outer London saw no change on six-month basis and an increase of *** percent compared to *** year ago. This highlights one of the effects that the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has had on housing demand: rather than living central, many people have decided to prioritize property size. The rise in demand for larger properties with outside space has influenced both rental and housing prices.

Central London is one of the biggest office real estate markets in Europe. In 2019, the market grew, reaching almost *** million square feet of take up as of the fourth quarter of 2019. In the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the period between April and June 2020 saw a steep decline in take-up, falling to almost ********* of Q2 2019 take up.

As of the third quarter of 2020, residential prices in the outer prime London market increased both on a quarterly and annual basis for properties with gardens. The highest quarterly price growth (*** percent) was observed for properties with a large garden. This highlights one of the effects that the coronavirus crisis has had on housing demand: people have reassessed their priorities and are now looking for dwellings with outside space. Another insight from the rental market also shows larger properties are less impacted by coronavirus-related negative rental growth.

The prime yields in the UK expanded across most property types between 2022 and 2025. In April 2025, yields were the lowest in the London West End offices market at *****percent. In contrast, shopping center yields stood at ****percent. Yield is an indicator for the expected return of a property investment and is calculated as the ratio of rental income and the property value. Several factors can drive yields - increased demand could raise property values, causing lower yields, while a fall in demand could create the opposite effect. Which is the largest commercial real estate sector in the UK? Office real estate has traditionally accounted for the lion’s share of the commercial property investment market, but since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, investors’ interest has shifted towards industrial real estate. With the e-commerce sector growing and supply chain management becoming more important than ever, so has the industrial and logistic sector. This increase in importance is also reflected in the occupiers market, with the annual take-up exceeding the ten-year average for three years in a row. How is the commercial property market expected to develop in the coming years? The industrial and logistic property market is forecast to outperform retail and offices in terms of capital value growth in the period between 2025 and 2028. According to the same forecast, rental growth is expected to turn positive for all property types in 2025, except for shopping centers.

Renters in the UK spent on average 32.5 percent of their income on rent as of January 2025. Scotland and Yorkshire and Humber were the most affordable regions, with households spending less than 28 percent of their gross income on rent. Conversely, London, South West, and South East had a higher ratio. Greater London is the most expensive region for renters Greater London has a considerably higher rent than the rest of the UK regions. In 2024, the average rental cost in Greater London was more than twice higher than in the North West or West Midlands. Compared with Greater London, rent in the South East region was about 600 British pounds cheaper. London property prices continue to increase In recent years, house prices in the UK have been steadily increasing, and the period after the COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception. Prime residential property prices in Central London are forecast to continue rising until 2027. A similar trend in prime property prices is also expected in Outer London.

House prices vary widely in the United Kingdom (UK), but housing in certain cities and counties is substantially pricier than in others. Surrey, for example, concentrated four of the most expensive towns to buy a home, including Virginia Water, Cobham, and Esher. With an average house price of over *********** British pounds as of June 2024, housing in these towns cost roughly **** times the national average. How did house prices change since the COVID-19 pandemic? Since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, demand for housing has been especially high, causing house prices to soar. Among major UK cities, the house price increase was most prominent in Belfast, where it rose by *** percent in 2024. According to the UK House Price Index, the average annual house price increase on a national level was even higher. How long does it take to sell a house? With the demand for housing going strong and inventory running low, aspiring homeowners need to act faster than ever when making an offer on a home. The average number of days on market has continued shortening since the start of 2021 and was a little over a month as of October 2021. Surprisingly, selling a property took the longest in the UK’s most competitive market - London.

London is the most expensive city for office real estate in Europe. In 2023, the per square foot cost of office space in London was higher than in any other European city. In West End, a Grade A office cost about 90 British pounds per square foot in 2023. Prime offices were even more expensive, at 135 British pounds per square meter. Office yields Prime yields in Central London fluctuate depending on the district, but West End areas tend to have lower yields compared to other areas, such as Stratford or Canary Wharf. The prime office yield in Mayfair/St. James' in 2023 was the lowest among the major London office submarkets. In real estate, yields measure the potential return of a rental property and are calculated as the ratio of the property's rental income to the investment cost. Typically, prime office yields in London are lower than the rest of the UK, which is mostly due to the highly competitive market and high investment costs. Vacancy rates Despite the high office rental costs in England’s capital city, vacancy rates in many of London's main office markets were below seven percent in 2023. This is good news for the office sector, as during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the share of vacant office space across all Central London districts spiked dramatically. Compared to other European cities, London was in the middle of the ranking, alongside Frankfurt and Lisbon.

Rents in England's capital, London, declined by *** percent annually as of January 2025. Nevertheless, many boroughs recorded growing rental prices, with Bromley and Croydon observing double-digit growth. Across the region, Croydon, Barking, Dagenham, and Havering ranked as some of the most affordable areas to rent. As shown by the Index of Private Housing Rental Prices, rents in the UK have soared since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first quarter of 2025, office availability rates in the UK were the lowest in Birmingham, at **** percent. Other cities such as Manchester and Bristol had higher vacancy rates. England's busiest office market, London, had a vacancy rate exceeding ** percent in 2024.The vacancy rate is the percentage of available office rental units that are vacant or unoccupied during a given time. High vacancy rates in a city can mean that supply is outweighing demand, or that the quality of particular properties available not meeting the desired demands of the rental market. After the COVID-19 outbreak, demand for offices has declined, leading to increased vacancies across most markets.

Bucharest, Riga, and Tallin were the cities with the highest prime warehouse yields in Europe in the first quarter of 2025. Conversely, the major markets in Germany had warehouse yields of **** percent, which was the lowest across the European cities in the ranking. Other markets with low yields were London, Paris, and Rotterdam. In real estate, yield is a measure of the rate of return and is calculated as the ratio of the annual income to the total investment cost. Yields in markets with higher property values are typically lower, displaying lower investment risk due to better capital value and rental growth prospects over the period of the investment. That can be seen in markets such as London, Paris, and Berlin, which, despite being among the most sought-after investment destinations, had some of the lowest prime yields. How have yields developed in recent years? As a function of income and costs, many political and market factors can contribute to yield fluctuation. In Germany, prime warehouse yields declined steadily between 2014 and 2021, followed by an increase in 2022 and 2023. The rise in net prime yields reflects a slowdown in commercial property values amid a decline in the investment market. Investment in industrial and logistics real estate Industrial and logistics emerged as one of the most resilient commercial real estate sectors after the COVID-19 pandemic, as businesses sought strategies to strengthen supply chains and boost e-commerce. Nevertheless, challenges in the commercial real estate market related to a tougher lending environment, asset repricing, and a worsening investor sentiment caused commercial real estate investment volumes in Europe to plummet in 2023. This also affected the industrial and logistics real estate investments, with the value of capital allocated to the sector reaching the lowest value since 2016.