The 18-metre effect: housing delivery at risk from regulatory gridlock
By Félicie Krikler2025-04-03T11:05:00
Félicie Krikler points to a growing move towards mid-rise housing, as developers grapple with the compounded risks of high-rise delivery under the current regulatory regime
What is my biggest takeaway from talking to clients, and in fact anyone in development recently? Well, it’s probably that so many are now focussing their attention on cities, towns and regions that work best for low to medium-rise developments (by that, understand under 18m).
This was certainly a big MIPIM talking point, with a number of developers and investors making it very clear that the gateway process, as it currently stands, coupled with high construction costs, is putting projects over 18m in the very risky box. Risk is a developer’s enemy, and they will run away from it fast. So in many places, attention is shifting towards areas better suited to lower-rise development.
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