UK new build homes are piling up, and the housing boom is forcing Santa Claus to extend his global Christmas schedule. In the first quarter of 2021, 49,470 new homes were completed. That figure represents the highest number of completions in over two decades and marks a four per cent increase compared to the final quarter of 2020. As families move into these new properties, the logistics of delivering presents to every household across the nation become increasingly complex for the North Pole’s busiest worker.
St. Modwen Homes has tracked the growth of the UK housing market since 2000 to determine how the rising number of new households impacts Saint Nick’s workload. The construction of thousands of new build homes and numerous conversion projects is expected to result in around 289,000 new homes in the UK by the end of 2021. This rapid expansion means Santa must handle an even tighter schedule to ensure every chimney gets a visit, even with his international mission already in full swing.
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The data suggests that in 2021, Santa will spend an extra 86.7 seconds delivering presents to UK homes compared to the previous year. While a minute-and-a-half might seem like a negligible amount of time, the math becomes staggering when viewed on a global scale. The study notes that Santa can only spend 0.0003 seconds per household to deliver all the presents in the world. Since the turn of the century, the North Pole resident has had to find an extra 18.4 minutes for UK deliveries alone.
For decades, the industry has treated homebuilding as a seasonal spike followed by a long winter lull, but the current surge suggests a permanent shift in housing demand. Unlike previous booms that might have relied on temporary construction spikes, this year’s figures indicate a structural increase in the number of households that require annual Christmas visits.
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Feeding the team
Every year, children leave out a mince pie and a glass of milk for Santa, and he always acknowledges this generosity with a gift under the tree. In 2021, the workload includes an extra 65,314,000 calories worth of mince pies and 27,455,000 calories worth of milk compared to the previous year. A diet already consisting primarily of gingerbread and candy canes might seem robust enough to handle this surplus, but the logistics of hauling such a load across the globe remain significant.
The reindeer crew also require sustenance to maintain their high performance. Children often leave a carrot out for Rudolph, and in 2021, new builds will result in 32,111 carrots per reindeer. Each of the nine reindeer will consume 963,333 calories worth of carrots. Keeping the red nose shining and the sleigh airborne requires a high-energy diet, and the housing boom is directly fueling the reindeer’s annual intake.
