{"id":11519,"date":"2026-07-08T03:02:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T03:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/second-home.uk\/?p=11519"},"modified":"2026-07-08T03:02:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T03:02:36","slug":"flat-market-recovery-key-to-housing-sector-growth-says-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/second-home.uk\/?p=11519","title":{"rendered":"Flat market recovery key to housing sector growth, says CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Restoring buyer confidence in flats is critical to revitalising the housing market, according to Andy Hill, CEO of Hill Group.<\/p>\n

Speaking to The Times<\/em>, Hill noted that flats have historically served as entry points for first-time buyers but have lost appeal in recent years. \u201c[Flats] used to be the stepping stones, [but] lots of first-time buyers now try to move further out and get a small house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Market performance gap<\/h2>\n

The flat market has significantly underperformed compared to houses. Data from Zoopla shows house prices have increased 43% since 2016, whilst flat prices have risen just 10% over the same period.<\/p>\n

Hill attributed the decline in flat popularity to fire safety concerns following the Grenfell tragedy and dissatisfaction with the leasehold system. He acknowledged that product quality must improve to meet changing buyer expectations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to build at pace and build large numbers [of homes] close to railway stations, we\u2019ve got to get apartment living back on the agenda as being seen as a good option, whereas at the moment it isn\u2019t,\u201d Hill stated.<\/p>\n

Design changes<\/h2>\n

The Hill Group has implemented design changes following the pandemic. \u201cOne thing we learned from Covid was that we would never build another flat without its own personal outside space,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

The flat market\u2019s performance contrasts with broader trends in the UK housing market<\/a>, which has shown resilience despite economic headwinds. Meanwhile, the build to rent sector has attracted \u00a32.2bn in investment<\/a> during the second quarter, suggesting continued institutional interest in apartment developments.<\/p>\n

Market implications<\/h2>\n

The recovery of the flat market could have significant implications for housing delivery targets, particularly in urban areas where land constraints favour higher-density development. First-time buyer access to homeownership may also depend on restoring confidence in apartment living as an affordable entry point to the property ladder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Restoring buyer confidence in flats is critical to revitalising the housing market, according to Andy Hill, CEO of Hill Group. Speaking to The Times, Hill noted that flats have historically served as entry points for first-time buyers but have lost appeal in recent years. \u201c[Flats] used to be the stepping stones, [but] lots of first-time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6165,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-second-home"],"yoast_head":"\nFlat market recovery key to housing sector growth, says CEO - Second Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertywire.com\/news\/flat-market-recovery-key-to-housing-sector-growth-says-ceo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flat market recovery key to housing sector growth, says CEO - Second Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Restoring buyer confidence in flats is critical to revitalising the housing market, according to Andy Hill, CEO of Hill Group. Speaking to The Times, Hill noted that flats have historically served as entry points for first-time buyers but have lost appeal in recent years. \u201c[Flats] used to be the stepping stones, [but] lots of first-time […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.propertywire.com\/news\/flat-market-recovery-key-to-housing-sector-growth-says-ceo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Second Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-08T03:02:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/second-home.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_96801-e1708142294199.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1256\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertywire.com\\\/news\\\/flat-market-recovery-key-to-housing-sector-growth-says-ceo\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/second-home.uk\\\/?p=11519\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/second-home.uk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4d1b4955add7c14742a3be9aaae12292\"},\"headline\":\"Flat market recovery key to housing sector growth, says CEO\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-08T03:02:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/second-home.uk\\\/?p=11519\"},\"wordCount\":313,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertywire.com\\\/news\\\/flat-market-recovery-key-to-housing-sector-growth-says-ceo\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/second-home.uk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/IMG_96801-e1708142294199.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Second Home\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/second-home.uk\\\/?p=11519\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.propertywire.com\\\/news\\\/flat-market-recovery-key-to-housing-sector-growth-says-ceo\\\/\",\"name\":\"Flat market recovery key to housing sector growth, says CEO - 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