In the third quarter of 2026, £1.6bn of build-to-rent (BTR) deals were completed, driven by large single-family portfolio sales.
US property group CBRE bought 222 suburban BTR homes from Bellway in July (picture: CBRE IM)
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£1.6bn of build-to-rent deals were completed in the third quarter of 2026, driven by large single-family portfolio sales #UKhousingThis has taken year-to-date BTR deal volumes to £4.2bn, according to property agency Knight Frank.
Suburban houses, or single-family housing, accounted for 67% of investment in the third quarter of 2026, across 11 deals. More than £1bn of capital was deployed through single-family deals during the period.
Operational investment, meaning the sale of completed schemes, totalled £600m in the third quarter of the year, accounting for 38% of total investment volumes.
This was supported by two large portfolio deals worth a combined £500m, including council pension pool Border to Coast’s acquisition of 866 suburban homes from Blackstone’s Leaf Living rental portfolio in August.
The transaction was valued at £400m, making it the largest single-family housing deal in the UK this year.
The homes are spread across 12 estates in the South East of England. It was Border to Coast’s second single-family transaction, following an agreement in February to forward-fund 139 homes in Cambridge. The pension pool expects its UK real estate fund to grow to £3bn in the next 12 months.
Other single-family transactions in recent months include CBRE Investment Management’s acquisition of 222 homes in the South East of England from house builder Bellway, and insurer Royal London’s purchase of 284 homes in Manchester.
Lizzie Breckner, head of BTR research at Knight Frank, said: “Investment activity in Q3 reflects continued confidence in the UK living sectors, particularly single-family housing, where investors are deploying capital at scale.
“While the market remains highly selective, given the macroeconomic backdrop, capital continues to target opportunities with strong fundamentals.
“The rising share of operational transactions, which accounted for 38% of total investment in Q3 and 61% of spend so far this year, reflects investors’ focus on assets and operating platforms capable of delivering immediate scale, income and future rental growth.”
Nick Pleydell-Bouverie, head of residential investment at Knight Frank, said: “Single-family housing has been a stand-out once again, continuing to attract significant capital from UK and overseas investors, alongside growing interest from pension funds.
“Strong occupier demand and the sector’s increasingly established track record mean it remains firmly on investors’ radar.
“More broadly, it’s encouraging to see the government taking steps to unlock further development and support housing delivery.
“Increased transaction activity helps build confidence, attract further investment and create the conditions needed to accelerate the delivery of much-needed new homes.”
The number of single-family BTR homes in the UK has tripled to 26,000 since 2020, according to Knight Frank. There were 26,407 operational single-family BTR homes across the UK in July, accounting for 16% of the country’s total BTR stock.
In July, the government’s National Housing Bank backed a suburban BTR fund with an investment of £100m. The bank, which launched in March, provided a £100m equity commitment to investment manager Long Harbour’s single-family housing fund.
The growth of the single-family BTR market has coincided with damped demand from owner-occupiers in recent years, which has helped investors to make bulk purchases of homes directly from house builders.
Despite this, single-family operators welcomed the government’s new Your First Home equity loan scheme for first-time buyers, on the basis that it could speed up mixed-tenure developments and make more schemes viable.
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