NEWhomes
Last few remaining...
How do you shift those last few homes in a tough market? Mark Gray of Tassell Design offers some advice.
I
f your client’s residential development isn’t selling, one of the first areas you will probably look at is the way that the project has been marketed and the value
of the brand that has been created. As a designer with 15 years’ experience working on creating brand identity for a range of property developments, you might expect me to concur. However, whilst I would certainly urge the re-evaluation of the success of the branding and consider what changes could be made; this should form just one part of an overall appraisal. The developer will have put much time
and effort into researching the chosen location with the ideal demographic on the doorstep. However, as every agent knows, the success of a development will always be subject to external factors such as interest rates, unemployment levels, inflation and supply and demand. The Government is hoping that initiatives such as the New Homes Bonus, designed to facilitate the building of more new homes in areas of need, will help to accelerate recovery. However, the reality is that the impact of these measures will inevitably take time to work through the system, and so will do little to help developers who are struggling to shift property now.
TAKING CONTROL Fortunately, not all the factors are out of your control: if a development isn’t selling there are definite steps that you can take to
44 NOVEMBER 2011 PROPERTYdrum
The success of a development is
subject to external factors such as interest rates, unemployment and supply and demand.’
improve sales. But first you need to take a step back and look at all the aspects of the development, asking yourself some searching questions. There is a reason why branding and
marketing is one of the first areas that people look at when a development isn’t selling: because getting this right is critical to success. That is also why companies such as mine are employed by developers to ensure that the identity they have created is right for their specific project and target audience. However, marketing is just one ingredient in successful selling, and so you will also need to look at all aspects of the development to determine why it isn’t selling. If you don’t know what the problem is, you can’t address it.
WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? So, before throwing away all that hard work and starting over, try to get to the root of the issue. Key questions to consider are: Are the fundamentals of the
development still right? Do you have the right location, is the property desirable, have you identified the right market for the project? It really is worth revisiting the evidence
that was originally gathered and looking at it with a fresh pair of eyes. Revaluate the prosperity of the area by revaluating the local economy. Get figures from your local authority planning department for the number of new houses built as a percentage of existing stock. If there is growth in business sectors, this indicates an up and coming area. Is the market still there? Consider supply
and demand in the area: do people living there want what you are selling? Is the greatest demand for reasonably priced two bedroom flats, luxury apartments, retirement flats or family homes? Does your development meet the way that your target market aspire to live? Are you supplying what your ideal
customer wants? If your target market is young professionals they may want stylish town centre apartments whereas families want safe environments with easy access to schools and amenities. They obviously need more space and exterior areas will be more important to them.
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