Manchester city living booms

Manchester city centre saw its highest construction activity since 2008 last year, with nearly 7,000 residential homes under construction across 28 schemes. SEE ALSO: Deloitte Real Estate Crane Survey 2017 MANCHESTER DEVELOPMENT SNAPSHOT The Deloitte Real Estate 2017 Crane Survey found 6,963 homes were under way, compared with 2,982 during the previous year. Simon Bedford, partner and head of Deloitte Real Estate in the North West, said: “Our construction pipeline monitors residential development through to 2020 and shows a number of exciting schemes set to evolve the city’s skyline. Four towers over 25 storeys high have begun construction, marking a new, exciting era for housing in Manchester.” One of those towers, at Renaker Build’s Owen Street, is set to become the highest residential building in the UK with 66 floors. The survey identified the trend for major refurbishment office schemes with eight of the nine new starts being refurbishments. Total office space in the pipeline totals 1.4m sq ft of floorspace, a 76% increase on the 10-year average. The hotel sector saw 1,040 new rooms under construction and expected to complete in 2017, which would be the largest delivery of hotel rooms since data collection started in 2006. Education-related developments saw approximately 750,000 sq ft of space completed. Bedford said: “For the first time, Manchester can expect to import more graduates than it exports this year, continuing its positive trajectory of talent retention and helping to grow the city-living market.” KEY FINDINGS • To send feedback, e-mail Louisa.Clarence-Smith@estatesgazette.com or tweet @LouisaClarence or @estatesgazette DELOITTE REAL ESTATE CRANE SURVEY 2017   • UK regions show record construction activity • Tourism and education lead Belfast boom • Birmingham sees record construction activity • Leeds office boost as resi underperforms • Manchester city living booms RELATED ARTICLES   • London crane survey 2016: build starts drop by 42% • London office construction down 42% • The 10 biggest investment deals of 2016 • Regional office take-up slides post-Brexit • Manchester achieves highest Q4 lettings since 2010 • Briefing: What’s the local plan?