Housing is the economic challenge of our generation. The cost of putting down roots has outpaced incomes for decades. In the UK, more young adults than ever are living with their parents well into their 30s. My wife and I, who are both working and have no kids, had to leave London to take our first step onto the housing ladder, and even then, our daily commute costs £37 and two hours of lost time. So even a compromise from a location perspective comes at a cost.

This isn’t just a UK story. My sister lives in Berlin, where rent controls have frozen supply, distorted the market and ultimately driven up rents and reduced housing quality. The symptoms vary, but the fundamentals are the same: too few homes, built too slowly. Internationally, policymakers often debate rent caps, additional taxes and potential subsidies, but the real solutions lie in how we design, deliver and operate homes. It’s important to remember that affordability isn’t just about rent or house prices, it’s about energy costs, transport costs, opportunity costs (time) and cost to the planet.

Here are my, possibly ambitious, solutions:

  1. Build more and faster – supply creates choice, competition and stability. Complex planning and legislation in the UK has caused uncertainty for developers and investors. Uncertainty is the enemy of economic growth. We need a clearer route through to planning and legislative approvals (i.e. less late-stage viability reviews and building safety regulator ambiguity) and a mindset that treats housing as essential infrastructure. Profit shouldn’t be a dirty word; it funds growth, innovation and quality. Developers and landlords leaving the sector and/or the country is a loss we can’t afford as a nation.
  2. Sharing is caring – we need to use space more intelligently. Sharing space isn’t a compromise; it’s smart. Co-living, student housing and Build to Rent models show how shared kitchens, gyms and workspaces can deliver better living at lower cost, with less energy and water use. It’s more sustainable, more sociable and should be more affordable if done at scale. The principle of multiple residents sharing certain facilities and amenities has to be more cost-efficient than each resident having their own individual spaces that are used infrequently.
  3. Location, location, location – my commute costs nearly £9,000 a year and ten hours of my week. Living closer to work, schools, and amenities saves time, money and stress. Modern rental buildings can internalise many of the costs people currently pay externally, with on-site gyms, co-working spaces, and even nurseries.
  4. Energy saving measures- it’s become one of the largest household expenses and one we can directly influence in our developments. Passivhaus principles, heat pumps and solar panels are better understood by the general public and are fast becoming an expectation in new developments. Better buildings protect both wallets and the planet.
  5. Speed matters – every extra month on site adds cost to a development, which is ultimately passed on to renters and buyers. In a viability-constrained market, any impact on the cost of development does not come off the developer’s bottom line; it unfortunately goes onto the future residents’ bills. Or even worse, the project doesn’t happen. Low-rise timber systems and factory-built building elements can cut time, reduce risk and bring homes to market faster. This reduces site costs, labour costs, the overall cost of construction, and total finance costs. This is not just to the benefit of developers, but importantly to the benefit of residents’ wallets.

Developers and landlords cannot single-handedly solve the cost-of-living crisis, but they can be a valuable part of the solution. It will be materially helped by building more, designing better and backing the people who can deliver. Public perception in the UK of the real estate and development industry needs to shift. We are not the root of our housing challenges; we are the solution.