A new report from property consultancy JLL lifts the lid on some of the ongoing problems hitting Build To Rent (BTR).
It says funding for new BTR multifamily development has fallen to its lowest level since at least 2015.
Investment through forward funding, forward purchases and land acquisitions accounted for just 10% of multifamily investment during the first half of 2026, compared with around two-thirds between 2023 and 2025.
Karl Tomusk, associate in UK living research at JLL, says: “The challenge continues to be finding ways to make development stack up. Even compared to the last few years, which no one would have described as a walk in the park for development, the dearth of investment in new multifamily homes so far in 2026 is staggering.”
He adds that while economic uncertainty remains, a recovery in development activity could follow if market conditions improve.
The rest of the report makes short-term better reading for agents involved in BTR.
Investment in the whole of the BTR sector reached £3 billion during the first half of this year – one of the strongest starts to a year on record.
The total was 28% higher than a year earlier and 6% above the five-year average.
JLL puts this success down to three major single and multifamily portfolios traded during the spring– L&Q’s 3,200-home Metra Living portfolio, Lendlease’s Elephant Park development in London, and Blackstone’s sale of 1,000 single-family homes from its Leaf Living business.
Combined, these accounted for £2 billion of the sector’s £3 billion investment.
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