Plymouth's New Housing Market
The British housing market was under the spotlight last week in the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2008. Five architects exhibited their designs for a housing project in Britain and a European country to highlight the housing challenges facing Britain today.
All the architects showed the British developments being considerably smaller than the European ones, with one as much as 30% smaller. England and Wales are the only countries in Europe without designated space standards, and it certainly shows, leading some commentators to ask why we do not have such standards.
Plymouth’s significant rise in new build flats in the last few years has seen cranes and new buildings dominate the skyline. Plymouth is looking to reinvent itself as a cultural city for the future. But has this come at a cost?
With the rise in house prices in recent years, so have land acquisition costs for developers. Plymouth City Council aims for 30% of new developments to offer affordable housing to counteract the rising prices. Add this to the decrease in available land for new developments, and it is no wonder developers increased the density of their new developments by decreasing flat sizes.
But is this their downfall? Many people have commented on the number of new developments, questioning whether this rate really can be sustainable.
A few years ago, significant numbers of flats were sold before a development’s completion. But recently, even before the credit crunch began to effect the south west, there was a down turn in sales of new build flats in Plymouth. The typical buyers, investors and first time buyers, had so much on offer that the market was reaching saturation point.
Since the crunch really hit home just over 6 months ago, uptake has slowed right down.The difficulty in getting mortgages and the uncertainty of the market means that many first time buyers and investors are sitting back waiting to see where the market goes.
A recent search on Rightmove revealed nearly 150 one or two bedroom new build flats for sale in Plymouth, where several of the developments have been on the market for over 12 months. A developer’s profitability relies on selling flats as soon as possible after they are built, but these unsold flats represent a money pit. Even if prices do drop and the market picks up, whether we will return to the heyday of buying has yet to be seen.
In the meantime, if the comments arising from the Venice Biennale of Architecture 2008 are anything to go by, developers will need to consider how to maximize their profits if they have to build bigger flats.
Contact Claire Ottery for more information or advice.
Published 17/09/2008. The author of this article is Claire Ottery
