Deloitte crane survey - Manchester

Manchester continues to be a huge draw for young professionals, attracted by its employment opportunities and vibrant nightlife. Is new home construction keeping pace?

Manchester's construction sector was amongst the first amongst to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. Since then, the combined centres of Manchester and Salford have been been second only to London in city centre redevelopment.

The recent history of the two cities has been about population growth. According to the most recent census, the number of people living in Manchester city centre has grown by almost 10% since 2011, from 503,000 to 552,000. Salford's population has increased by 15% over the same period. Both figures are likely to be understated as the 2021 census was conducted at a time when many students had temporarily left the cities as a result of Covid.

Over the ten year period, and within the area covered by Deloitte's Crane Survey. 23.000 homes have been delivered. The shortfall has left central Manchester with a severe housing shortage.

The population growth is set to continue. City centre job creation is such that 700,000 square feet of new office space was delivered in 2022, with another 1.7 million under construction. Deloitte estimates that 20,000 more people will move into the city centre in the next three years.  Local housing targets suggest that this rate of growth will continue until 2035.

The number of new residential units set to be delivered over the next three years is less than 12.000, Given that the city centre's population is largely made up of single people and couples, this is likely to be enough to accommodate 20,000 more people but not meet the true demand or address the current shortage which looks set to continue for some time to come.

Deloitte's full report can be found at

Manchester Crane Survey 2022

City centre north

Victoria district
1, 2 and 3 bedroom
From £277,000

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