UK residential investment has been forecast to grow by some 25 percent in 2022, after showing a healthy start to the year.

CBRE data shows that the sector recorded a total of £2.9 billion (€3.4 billion) of investment in the first three months of 2022, with investment up by 48 percent on the same period in 2021. Purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) accounted for nearly half of the total investment, at £1.4 billion (€1.6 billion). PBSA activity was distributed across the country, with the largest deal being a £388 million (€454 million) acquisition of assets in Manchester, Coventry and London by Downing from Greystar.

Up 9 percent to £860 million (€1 billion) from the same period last year, build-to-rent (BTR) investment activity was also strong in the first quarter. CBRE says that investment was heavily weighted towards London and the south of the United Kingdom, accou