Sustained population growth since the early 2000's

Ever since the new Labour government’s economic initiatives began to yield results in the early 2000’s, Sheffield’s population began expanding. From its 513,300 residents in 2001, the number of residents living in the city had grown to 595,280 as of 2022. The population is expected to continue on this upward trend, totalling 617,650 by 2035, a 20% increase since 2001. This high level of population growth has, and will continue to, put immense pressure on the city’s housing stock.

Robust economic growth backed by large-scale regeneration

Sheffield is currently in its third phase of regeneration, with the first phase focusing on industrial enterprise and the second on aiding large-scale public reinvestments. The economy has grown by 116% since 2000, totalling over GBP16.4 billion as of 2022. The economy is expected to expand by a further 63% and reach GBP26.8 billion by 2035. As Sheffield’s economy continued to grow, new jobs were created, resulting in the unemployment rate falling from 11% in 2012 to 4.9% in 2022. The city continues to attract many eager young professionals looking for quality accommodation to rent as they work and study in Sheffield.

Under-supplied housing market

Construction activity in Sheffield has been unsuccessful in meeting the demand resulting from the high levels of population growth since the early 2000s. Between 2011 and 2020 alone, a mere 7,600 units were added to the housing stock, which totalled 38,877 units as of 2021. With an average of 760 dwellings added per annum over the last 10 years, the council’s current housing target of 2,222 units per annum up to 2039 may seem highly ambitious. Therefore, with only 7,600 new units to accommodate a growth in housing need of 31,542 units in the last 10 years, there is a significant undersupply of new-build investment grade properties in the city Sheffield’s city council will target 2,222 units per annum to be completed between 2022 and 2039 . As a result, an undersupply of at least 14,114 housing units is expected by 2032 meaning a 22% shortage of the
housing requirement.

Download the Sheffield housing market summary below.