Manchester's building boom falls to 'lowest level in 10 years'
Manchester’s building boom faltered to its lowest level in a decade last year, new figures have shown.
The city saw 20 new building projects begin in 2024, the annual Deloitte Crane Survey has found, the ‘lowest level in 10 years’.
Although new starts decreased for a third year-in-a-row in 2024, John Cooper, infrastructure and real estate partner at Deloitte, believes the city is ‘very well placed for further development over the next few years’.
He added: “You only need to look at the skyline in Manchester to see just how much the city has changed over the last decade, as it has transformed it into a dynamic innovation hub. Our survey’s findings demonstrate that despite ongoing pressures and a decrease in new starts, Manchester’s construction sector remains active.”
Across Manchester and Salford, 58 developments were under construction last year. That led to a ‘significant increase’ in projects finishing, with 27 being completed.
New housing projects made up the backbone of building work, as 4,448 new properties were completed last year, while another 10,788 homes were under construction at the same time. More than half of the new projects were residential, and with 9,000 more homes set to be finished in the next two years, analysts believe ‘Manchester is on track to exceed the average annual demand for homes’.
Office openings surged, with 1.07 million sq ft the largest Mancunian total since 2020, but warnings around a lack of new office space being available in the city centre in the coming years remain.
Professor Duncan Ivison, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester, said ‘there is more to do’ in ‘attracting top talent to the city-region and empower them to push the boundaries of discovery and innovation’.