Melanie Leech
Chief Executive of the British Property Federation
Reforms are underway to help revitalise UK real estate in 2026 and beyond.
It’s been a challenging few years for UK real estate. High debt and finance costs, material and labour price increases and novel and cumulatively burdensome regulations have added to the ballast that a development must carry before it can create a penny in return to investors.
This has led to a viability challenge, even a crisis, across the country. According to data from Molior Consultancy, London has seen housing completions plummet to just 5% of the required output in 2025.
Pursuing planning reform with a ‘build, baby, build’ mantra
The fundamentals are there for the UK. It has a government with a large majority overtly committed to growth and to new housing and other development. There are investment opportunities across sectors as diverse as residential, mixed-use, logistics, advanced manufacturing, labs, data centres and multiple infrastructure sectors. Our long-term assets of the rule of law (and contract), the English language and cultural attractiveness remain compelling.
London has seen housing completions plummet to just 5% of the required output in 2025.
Promising start for UK real estate
For these reasons, 2026 should see UK real estate turn a corner. Many of the planning and other reforms the Government undertook in its first 18 months should bear fruit. Interest rates are coming down slowly, easing finance costs and delays at the Building Safety Regulator (the biggest cause of frustration for our members) are reducing. Of course, nothing is certain, and global politics remains volatile, especially with the USA, the single biggest investor nation in UK real estate.
The British Property Federation (BPF) has advocated for the UK’s property sector for over 60 years, responsible for 5% of the country’s economy and accounting for 1 in 12 jobs, according to a report we commissioned. Later this year, we’ll be turbocharging this advocacy by merging with the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) and the Investment Property Forum (IPF) to form Real Estate:UK, creating a more powerful and effective single voice for the UK’s real estate sector. We’re excited for our next chapter supporting this vital sector for the UK’s growth and the health of our communities.
