UK needs an extra 700m sq ft of senior housing by 2040, says Cushman

Senior housing, data centres and life sciences have been identified by Cushman & Wakefield as the UK sectors that will require the biggest increases in property stock by 2040. According to Cushman’s The Shape of Real Estate report, demographic shifts and technological advancement will be key factors driving demand.  With the number of over-65s expected to increase by 4m to nearly 17m by 2040, the amount of stock required for senior housing will need to increase by 171.3% on existing levels, equating to 709.3m sq ft. As demand soars for data storage – driven by generative AI, subscriptions to cloud-stored content services, and e-commerce – the amount of stock required for data centres will increase by 98.9 % to 16.3m sq ft. The sector that will see the third largest increase in requirement for stock is life sciences, which is set to grow by 53.4% to 8.8m sq ft.  However, the sector which will require the greatest amount of stock is PRS, which will need 2012.8m sq ft needed by 2040, a 43.1% increase in demand. Daryl Perry, head of UK research and insight at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Understanding demand-led variables helps to identify the imbalances in the UK real estate portfolio and in turn shape future cities. “The largest requirements for additional stock are projected to be focused towards housing and caring for an ageing population. However, we expect the logistics and industrial and living sectors to attract the most investment through to 2040 and, in turn, increase the competition for space. “Looking ahead to see the trajectory of real estate in the years, and indeed decades, to come has never been more important. Yet there are significant external factors that will weigh on the potential for real estate to respond, including the ongoing impact of inflation, government policy and evolving environmental and business standards. David Haynes, head of specialist markets at Cushman & Wakefield, added: “Despite increased awareness of the UK’s ageing population and the burden this will place on the UK’s public services, the delivery of senior housing has barely increased. “Our report estimates that a further 4m dwellings will be required by 2040 and even that rate of construction will just maintain historic trends rather than address the chronic shortage of homes.”   Image © Shutterstock