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All you need to know about the Single Family Housing Investment Class

In this paper we are considering the emerging Single-Family Housing (SFH) sector. We then contrast it with Build-to-Rent as an investment class. This means exploring the operational differences. We are also looking at the opportunities and also its potential. Also we will be making a distinction between ‘Suburban Build-to-Rent’ (SBTR). This can also include low rise apartment blocks as well as houses. This brand new paper is looking exclusively at SFH’s.

People need more space and a place to bring up families. They need Single Family Housing

Who were the early pioneers of Single Family Housing?

The BTR catalyst is said to be Sir Adrian Montague’s 2012 government-sponsored report, “Barriers to institutional Investment in the Private Rented Sector”. Subsequent government support packages are also significant. This includes the HCA BTR funds 1 & 2 including the creation of the PRS Task Force. Whilst this may be broadly true, there were earlier pioneers. Most notably Fizzy Living incorporated prior to Sir Adrian’s report. Delancey plc & Qatari Diar in 2011, also signed a £557m deal to take over the Athlete’s Village (Now known as the East Village) following the 2012 Olympics.

Single Family Housing continues to grow

Single Family Housing is flexible and is moving to the suburbs

The argument for ‘scale’ in the Single Family Housing sector is very well-rehearsed and people understand it. Since the beginnings of the British Property Federation (BPF) and Savills BTR index in 2016, the average scheme size has grown. In fact, it continues to grow. An alternative source, Knight Frank & Homeviews, report that the average scheme size for completed schemes stands at 212 homes. However, those under construction and in planning stand at 264 and 320 homes respectively. This data is suggesting Single Family Housing’s growth is broadly in line with the trend that was identified by the BPF and Savills.

Single Family Housing will move away from the cities

To be clear on the numbers: The BPF and Savills report on schemes greater than 20 homes in size. Knight Frank & Homeviews use a scheme size threshold of 75 homes and above.

Broadly speaking, scale tends to run hand in hand with density. Density equates with urban environments. Therefore, we have seen most BTR schemes located in London or regional centres. This correlates with target cohorts and building typologies. The BTR sector identifies the service provision as necessary and appropriate. Single Family Housing creates a different perspective.

Scale does have operational advantages and economies. Cities and large towns. are favourite locations These have populations and cohorts sufficient to support a BTR development or, indeed, competing developments.

The breadth of SFH delivery has the advantage

There are no similar constraints within Single Family Housing. Compare UK BTR development with UK housebuilding development. densely populated areas see lots of BTR developments. House builders are able to build more broadly and more evenly across the UK. This breadth of delivery has the advantage of offering greater opportunity. The disadvantage is “investible scale”. That is: scheme sizes of sufficient size to attract institutional attention.

But, as our research shall demonstrate, SFH investible scale cannot be judged against BTR investible scale. The two asset classes are very different and the approaches to each are not directly interchangeable. However, they are complimentary.

Download the white paper and sign up for our SFH webinar

If you want to find out more about this investment class download our paper and sign up for the latest Single Family Housing webinar with key speakers on 30th November 2021 at 10am here.

There’s never a convenient time for a water leak or a boiler breakdown. Each year we see thousands of reported faults through our platform. With many cases occurring at the most inconvenient of times for those affected.

Similarly, as a Landlord, finding the time to squeeze in regular tasks at your rental property can be a challenge alongside everyday life.

As a product development team, we asked ourselves how can we streamline these key events, and make them better for everyone?

Time is of the essence

Nobody likes waiting. Whether it’s waiting for a delayed train or for your coffee to cool down.

One of the key hallmarks of Howsy’s service is that we give landlords ultimate control, visibility, and choice. This involves frequent communication with landlords who, for example, can approve repairs before they’re actioned and ask us to carry out important compliance checks at the appropriate time.

But there are instances where landlords are unable to review particular actions and would prefer everything to be handled instantly on their behalf. For such customers, by seeking approval, we’re actually slowing the process down by inserting them in the loop. And ultimately, making renters who are experiencing difficulties, wait.

Introducing Smart Settings

To help those who want ultimate control and those who just want us to get on with it, we’ve introduced a new range of smart settings. These settings allow landlords to define the behaviour of the technology for common scenarios on a case-by-case basis.

For example, a landlord may want us to automatically deal with an urgent repair when the quote falls below a certain threshold, but then always ask them for approval when dealing with low priority issues. Similarly, they may want us to automatically renew their gas safety certificate but ask them before renewing their energy certificate. These preferences can now be set and updated at any time.

Setting up these preferences can save landlords time, help them remain compliant and speed up the resolution of problems for renters living in the property.

Building & Designing Smart Settings

The ability to define how future events are handled is powerful and landlords need to work through each one and make the correct choice for them. At the same time, we wanted to make sure it was easy to configure and did not feel like taking a test.

To avoid this, we created a smart settings journey that takes landlords through each setting in turn. Using a carousel of cards, one card per smart setting, we’ve reduced the cognitive load for the user by giving a single setting to focus on at any given time.

Each card contains all the relevant information to make the right choice – it contains examples for each type of setting, a range of possible choices and indicative pricing when a setting would incur a cost.

The user experience helps the landlord make the right choice, quickly, without feeling overwhelmed.

Setting up your Smart Settings:

Start reaping the benefits of this new feature in just a few minutes. Follow these three quick and easy steps:

Go to your Dashboard and click on ‘My Account’ in the top right-hand corner and then in the dropdown select ‘Account information’.
From the Account Information page, select ‘Smart Settings’ on the toolbar.
Now you have the opportunity to customise your preferences based on how you want your property to be managed. From managing repairs to handling tenancy check-outs.

Once complete, review and confirm your settings. Don’t worry, you can amend them at any time should your circumstances change.

Your thoughts and feedback

As a product development team, our role is to optimise and improve the experience of both our landlords and renters, with the ultimate mission to make renting better for everyone. With this in mind, we’re keen to get your feedback on this latest feature. Drop us an email to [email protected]

Category: Property

Single Family Housing