Findings

Variations between the 3 regions are in the main a reflection of the difference in living costs across the UK. It is therefore no surprise that Region 1 remains the most expensive region for the 11th consecutive year at an average of £5.64 per sq ft (£5.79 2007).Variations between the 3 regions are in the main a reflection of the difference in living costs across the UK. It is therefore no surprise that Region 1 remains the most expensive region for the 11th consecutive year at an average of £5.64 per sq ft (£5.79 2007).

Region 3 remains the 2nd most expensive at £4.67 per sq ft, a significant reduction from £5.14 per sq ft in 2007 (data included a number of large items of exceptional expenditure) and Region 2 comes in as the cheapest region at an average of £4.35 per sq ft which is the same figure as recorded in 2007.

The 2007 report showed a significant departure between the costs in Region 2 and Region 3, primarily as a result of refurbishment costs linked to competition with new developments in the region. These two regions had historically tracked each other almost identically. Chart 6 shows that these costs are starting to come closer to each other once more. We predict that these costs will meet again and track each other once more and that the 2007 data may prove to be somewhat of an outlier in the long term. As Chart 7 illustrates, costs in all three regions have increased in excess of RPI since 1998. Region 3 continues to show expenditure which is the furthest in excess of RPI (£1.32 variance), Region 1 expenditure is also well in excess of RPI inflation (£0.59 variance) and Region 2 is the closest to RPI at a variance of 22p per sq ft.