exi Group
What Does the UK Housing Market Really Look Like Right Now?
Tom French Shares His View.
exi recently welcomed Tom French, joining us as Director of Project Management. Tom enhances our project management offering with extensive experience across the residential sector, including Affordable Housing, Build-to-Rent, and Student Accommodation.
We now talk to Tom further to find out more about his experience in the housing market, schemes he has helped deliver, and his thoughts on the housing landscape – its challenges, opportunities, and areas of focus.
Tom, tell us about your background in housing.
With over 20 years in the residential sector, I’ve worked across Affordable Housing, Build-to-Rent, and Purpose-Built Student Accommodation. What makes the sector particularly interesting is the breadth of financial structures and procurement routes involved, from Section 106 Development Agreements and Development Funding Agreements through to JCT Design and Build contracts. I’ve worked on behalf of funders, developers and Registered Providers, and across both forward funded and forward commit models, which gives me a rounded perspective on how each party’s priorities shape a project.
What services do you typically deliver on housing schemes?
My core expertise covers the full project lifecycle, from Technical Due Diligence at pre-acquisition right through to project completion. Depending on the scheme and the client, I act as Employer’s Agent, Project Monitor, or Project Manager. The pre-acquisition phase is particularly important to me; understanding what you’re committing to before you commit is fundamental to de-risking a project from the outset.
Where is your market focus?
My focus is on Affordable Housing and Build-to-Rent, working UK-wide in line with where the active developers and Registered Providers are targeting growth. Regional markets outside London are particularly compelling right now. Cities like Birmingham and Manchester are leading the way, driven by strong rental demand and lower land costs, which makes the numbers work in ways that are increasingly difficult in the capital.
Can you share some notable projects?
One that stands out is Agar Grove in Camden. This scheme was Camden Council’s largest Community Investment Programme scheme at the time, and the UK’s largest and first ever 100% Passivhaus scheme to be conditioned at planning. I led as Project Manager from inception through to the procurement of Phase 1, working as part of a multidisciplinary team. The scheme involved the phased decant and demolition of 249 existing homes, replaced with 496 new homes, including an extensive refurbishment of an 18-storey tower block, delivering a mix of social rent, intermediate rent and private sale, with a total budget of circa £150m across three phases.
On the Build-to-Rent side, I worked on The Barnum in Nottingham for Grainger Plc, a 348-apartment, 10-storey new-build scheme forward-funded by Grainger, Bloc Group and Graham Construction, with a £55m development budget. I also worked on Castle Wharf, Nottingham, a fascinating Grade II-listed waterways warehouse refurbishment for Lloyds Living, creating 95 Build-to-Rent apartments, including a rooftop extension. More recently, Project Horizon involved Technical Due Diligence and Project Monitoring for Lloyds Living’s largest acquisition to date, comprising 610 single-family homes across nine sites, with a portfolio value of £160m.
What’s your take on the current housing landscape?
The honest answer is that it’s challenging, but there is genuine opportunity for those who understand the market and can navigate the complexity. Pagabo’s recent white paper, “Building 1.5m Homes: Is It Achievable?” puts some hard numbers around what many of us are experiencing on the ground. The finding that fewer than 1% of respondents believe the government’s target is achievable with current policy measures is striking – but it’s not surprising. The ambition is right; the mechanisms to deliver it still need work.
The 60% who describe housing funding as insufficient reflects a reality I see regularly, particularly in the Affordable Housing space, where Registered Providers are being pulled in multiple directions, including repairs, fire safety, and decarbonisation, all competing for the same pot of money. And the identification of land availability and developer viability expectations as the biggest barriers aligns exactly with what’s happening on the ground: schemes are securing planning consent but not getting built because the numbers don’t stack up.
What I find interesting in Pagabo’s research is the broad support for a balanced approach to land use: 54% back a mix of brownfield and green belt, with a third favouring brownfield first. That’s a pragmatic position. Brownfield development is right in principle and right for communities, but it comes with real costs and complexities, such as remediation, abnormal ground conditions, and existing structures. Without the right support mechanisms, it adds to viability pressure rather than solving it.
Build-to-Rent has matured considerably, from a specialist product into a core component of housing delivery. Operational stock reached 158,000 homes in 2025, up 16% year-on-year, and investment of £4.7bn exceeded the long-term average. But high construction costs, labour shortages and the regulatory demands of the Building Safety Act are creating friction, particularly for high-density multi-family schemes. That’s driving a clear shift toward single-family housing, which attracted 55% of investment in 2025, offering lower planning risk, more predictable cash flow, and better viability in suburban locations.
Ultimately, tenure diversification, modern construction methods, and private institutional capital are increasingly part of the solution. The blend of these, alongside smarter use of public land and procurement frameworks that reduce friction and costs in the supply chain, is where I see the greatest opportunity for the market to increase housing supply across all tenures.
Where can exi could help you?
exi are a multi-disciplinary consultancy providing national coverage in the UK.
Our suite of services comprises Project Management, Architecture, Building Services, Energy & Sustainability, Cost Consultants, Digital Management and Strategic & Technical Advisory.
We cover sectors including Healthcare, Education, Residential, Justice, Defence, Central & Local Government, Commercial, Hotels and Retail.
Our team of sector and delivery experts adopt a one team approach, striving to deliver excellence in everything we do, to bringing you value through delivery.
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