London developers pushed the button on nearly twice as many residential towers in 2014 compared to a year ago putting levels of tower development in the capital in line with New York.
Schemes starting with at least one element over 20 storeys are now at a 10-year high, according to figures from EGi’s London Residential Research with 25 schemes starting construction in 2014, up 79% on the year before and six times higher than 2005.
There is little sign of development slowing with 37 towers planned in London, the highest level for at least 20 years, said LRR. In comparison there are 51 towers planned in New York according to New York research company Yimby.
“A few years ago to compare the London skyline with that of New York’s would have been risible. The gap is narrowing and in the year to come we may witness yet more explosive growth of the vertical kind,” said Nigel Evans, head of LRR.
Schemes starting on towers has sent the number of private residential units under construction to a 20-year high, although the number of units completing has flatlined. Evans added: “You can’t phase towers and you can’t live in them until they are all complete either, unlike a row of houses. A further year or two down the line we predict a torrent of completions occurring simultaneously.”
Watch the meteoric rise of the towers in the video below which shows where and what has been built in London in the last decade.
Hover on the graph below to see the absolute number of schemes started each year.
Click here to view London Residential Research’s full report.
