developers are responding
Serious demand in the Home
Counties for quality property
“At that level”, Tim Garbett maintains, “the
basic requirement is for five bedrooms, four
receptions, four bathrooms and three garages,
but it does not stop at the number of rooms.
“Purchasers require every feature of the
house to have been designed, built and in-
stalled to the highest possible specification,
whether it is the taps in the bathroom, the
equipment in the kitchen, or a multi-channel
entertainment and communications system
networked across every room in the house.
Highest possible specification
Mr Garbett went on to note that “There is a
serious demand across the home counties for
quality new homes. Developers have to re-
spond by seeing how they can constantly im-
prove their specification to beat the opposition. set in 1.5 acres (0.6 hectares). This has at-
I can sell quality property - if people can touch tracted serious interest at £12 million.
and feel that quality, they will buy it. They While such properties are increasingly be-
can recognise when developers have put their ing taken up by Russian, Middle Eastern and
heart and soul and their design flair into their Far Eastern purchasers who see the high se-
work.” curity environment of St George’s Hill as a
Andrew Harwood at Tunbridge Wells en- major advantage, there is a knock-on effect in
dorsed his colleague’s line on quality new stimulating demand within the other segments
build, and broadened the observation into more of the Golden Triangle.
established properties, “Purchasers are look-
ing for ‘best in class’ whether it is a new de-
velopment or a charming cottage in the coun-
Demand for property to be boosted
tryside with 2 bedrooms. Location and inherent The gradual easing of mortgages will have a
quality remain important factors. Developers positive effect on Prime Residential. However
are sensing that properties are selling if the the figures on lending are presented, banks
project stacks up, and there is evidence now and building societies are still prepared to lend
of a demand for sites suitable for development.” only to good applicants.
Prospective purchasers of the more expen-
Aditional factors over £6 million
sive properties will either not need a mort-
gage or be able to provide a very substantial
While the ‘prime’ tag relates to homes priced equity component when they move home and
anywhere from £2 million up to £20 million, are therefore at the head of the queue for funds.
additional factors come into play when the The risk to the lender from providing a mort-
price moves past the £6 million mark. The gage in these situations is small, and is re-
demand at that level is for near-palatial stand- duced further by the ability to re-sell a prop- Above: Developers have to be able to
ards. Within the Golden Triangle, St George’s erty in the worst case scenario. demonstrate a very high standard
Hill is probably the UK’s premier residential Overleaf, we investigate how Fund Manag- of design and implementation
estate, with a limited supply of new proper- ers are now leveraging from the implied stabil- when new properties like Split Pines
ties coming to market. A good illustration ity of the prime residential market to generate on St George’s Hill are brought to
would be a 12,500 sq ft (1,150 sq metres) house capital growth for their clients. market at £7.95 million.
The Informed Executive
51
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