Low supply and high demand for housing has become the prominent feature of the property market in London.

Various government agencies, particularly the stakeholders of housing, have been coming up with innovative plans to meet the demand in the capital city. But the gap between demand and supply is continuing to widen. Recently, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, announced plans to create more than 200,000 homes in order to meet the ever increasing demand for quality housing.

London is not the only economic hub, which is facing this problem of lack of quality housing. Many leading metropolitan cities, across the world, including New York, Hong Kong, and Singapore are facing the same situation. People are unable to afford quality homes because of the high pricing, which incidentally, has become a stumbling block for the growth of the sector.

Several factors have contributed to the price inflation of quality homes in London, but many of these are because of consequence of the prevailing economic situation. Under such circumstances, it becomes imperative for stakeholders of housing to come up with alternative or innovative business plans to increase the supply of quality and affordable housing.

One such innovative plan for housing could be the cooperative model involving Local Authorities, property business companies and investors so that a win-win situation is created for all. It is not that such a model has not been tried out in the past. There have been a few attempts by the stakeholders to join hands to address the demand for housing, but they have achieved limited success. Consequently, the model needs to be reinvented to ensure that the objective of quality and affordable housing for all is met in the long term. There is no dearth of funding for such housing projects, as London is an attractive market from the investors’ perspective. There has been a spate of investments from international firms, especially companies from Asia, in housing projects in London in recent times. This is an indicator of the growing interest for the London property market from investors outside of the UK. This trend may pick pace in the coming years, as the property market is set to boom coupled with a strong economic growth.

The stakeholders of the property market can take a cue from this development, as investors from different nations are showing interest in investment opportunities in the London property market. We need to come up with workable plans to direct these investments into the growth of quality housing.
Innovative marketing model will also help position the London property market better. There is no doubt that London property is in great demand globally, but the high pricing has become a deterrent for its growth among the local buyers, who are keen on buying homes. The housing market just cannot rely on international clientele for stability. Unless the domestic demand is met, any sector will not see healthy growth and the same is applicable to housing as well.
It is the right time for the stakeholders of housing to take a balanced approach in meeting the demand for housing by coming up with a new model.