Agency News
Savills sees bright future for Bristol
Savills has reported renewed confidence in the Bristol housing market, which, in turn, has encouraged developers to focus on longer term sites; however, it has warned of possible shortages of supply. “In the short term, developers will struggle to meet the pent-up demand for city centre housing, in particular for apartments,” said George Cardale, head of residential development. “For those seeking a new-build apartment in the city, there are virtually no completed apartments remaining on the market.” added Cardale, highlighting Linden Homes’ Living @ The Bristol County Ground, which is selling at a rate of
around eight apartments per month to both investors and owner-occupiers, with completion not due before summer. Cardale believes the recent changes to permitted development rights, allowing for the conversion of office buildings to residential use without the need for planning permission, subject to certain conditions, will ease the current lack of supply. “In time, a more favourable market will encourage investment in new sites, unlocking land for development. However, until then, the ability to convert under-used office buildings to residential apartments, with fewer planning hurdles, offers one alternative to the shortage of supply.”
Second-steppers turn to part exchange
According to Move with Us data, there has been an annual increase of 11% in homes sold using part exchange, which the part exchange firm considers is partly driven by more new family homes being built and second-time buyers now trading up. “Part exchange is an attractive option for many homebuyers, allowing them to sell their old property at a true and fair market value in the shortest time possible and enabling them to get a brand new property in return. One of the main
benefits of PX has to be the certainty provided by having no chains at either end of the sale,” said Robin King, director at Move with Us. “The significant growth of construction activity coupled with government incentives has also made new-build properties much more accessible at a time when mortgage approval rates have been low, so it is no real surprise that PX has increased in popularity as more so-called second-steppers look to move up the property ladder.”
Turnover was up more than 35% in 2013 at Mishon Mackay Land and New Homes and the firm anticipates similar improvements this year. According to partner Julie Frith, the Help to Buy scheme and investment from overseas buyers have both helped improve the company’s fortunes. The positive outlook should bode well for developer Blue Sonic, which will be launching Clayhills in Lewes in January, a mix of 32 apartments and nine family houses, including 10 for shared ownership, with Mishon Mackay as joint agent.
“Clayhills is one of the first small sites in the country which has been partly funded by the government-backed Get Britain Building initiative,” said Frith. Blue Sonic owner Andrew Newton, who represents smaller-scale housebulders at government level, providing guidance and feedback for the coalition of organisations behind Get Britain Building, said: “This scheme is great for small- and medium-size developers who just need a little more help to get schemes up and running.”
Sullivan Thomas Carter Jonas has expanded its London presence through the acquisition of independent agency, Sullivan Thomas, which has three offices in Parsons Green, Bishops Park and Wandsworth Common reporting a combined turnover of £2.3m. The founder and director of Sullivan Thomas, Gregory Besterman, has been appointed as head of residential across the Carter Jonas network of 28 offices to drive the residential growth strategy. “The prime London residential property market has performed exceptionally well throughout the financial crisis, while the rest of the country has been subdued,” said Besterman. “We have seen many clients selling in London to take advantage of the financial differential between London and the rest of the country. The Help to Buy scheme is also likely to further stimulate the market and I anticipate a significant increase in the number of transactions throughout the Carter Jonas network. “My role will be to deliver the strong growth strategy for Carter Jonas’ residential business, capitalising on its already well- established residential, rural, commercial, and planning and development divisions, and giving additional value to our clients.”
48| January 2014 showhouse
Carter Jonas acquires
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