A further one in ten believed there would also be opportunities within commercial development in regional parts of the UK.
As a result, 9 out of 10 of the developers surveyed will be focused on new-build homes in the next twelve months in regional areas around the Midlands and the South East.
However, nearly 75% of developers surveyed claimed that a lack of understanding and flexibility from lenders is still a major issue when it comes to gaining access to finance.
The survey, conducted at ‘The One Stop Developer Shop’, seminar in London last week showed the biggest obstacles to financing included poor understanding coupled with a lack of flexibility from mainstream lenders.
James Bloom, CEO of Regentsmead said: “The general sentiment in the room was largely positive with regards to housing market and wider economic growth in the next five years. Developers are looking to regional areas outside of London to build new and affordable housing which is good news for the industry and even better news for the nation’s homeowners and first-time buyers. It is our mission to be different from the high street lenders by applying our expert knowledge of developer finance to delivering timely and accessible capital to support this kind of housing project.”
Alex Neale, developer and managing director of Romford Homes said: “We are one of the many small to mid-sized developers who have felt limited by the offering of the high street banks for years. Whilst it is fair to say that some of the advertised rates are competitively priced, the level of service, speed and efficiency which comes with working with Regentsmead has made us pleased we chose them as our lender.”
He added: “We are one of the firms currently taking advantage of the demand for new and affordable housing outside of London at this time. Without the bespoke and timely support of Regentsmead, we would not be able to continue with some of the exciting residential projects we have planned and certainly would not be where we are today.”
To watch CEO, James Bloom’s presentation at the event, click HERE:
