AS THE year draws to an end, increasing numbers of developers and estate agents armed with a national road map are joining the chorus proclaiming the attractions of Bucks as a place to live.
“Buckinghamshire has experienced its own property boom this year,” maintains Karly Williams, sales and marketing director for Barratt North Thames. “Our homes are selling like hot cakes. I’ve never seen anything like it in my career.”
Her company is building 2,000 homes at the Kingsbrook development on the outskirts of Aylesbury. “Many of our buyers have moved from London in search of a bigger bang for their buck.”
Sixty per cent of the land for the Aylesbury scheme has been designated as open space. The housing will be grouped in village-style settings with schools, neighbourhood shops and meeting places for local events to give the new community a heart.
“We only have two homes available in our Orchard Green village at Kingsbrook. Demand shows no signs of slowing down,” reports the sales exec. “Buyers are no longer bothered by a commute,” she says. “While perhaps the London exodus was viewed as a trend initially, the reality is that counties such as Buckinghamshire with green space, excellent schools and good transport connections will hold their appeal.”
Simon Pendlebury, sales and marketing boss at Dandara Northern Home Counties isn’t expecting the current spike in demand at The Grove in Haddenham to be nipped in the bud during the winter months.
When the site is completed, the 280 new homes off Aston Road will include bungalows, flats and houses. The developer says there are three homes unsold from the current phase. “The majority sold within a few months,” he reports.
House market experts have been predicting that the sales boom following lockdown would level out. “We don’t expect a plateau in the market,” says Mr Pendlebury. “We are looking to launch the final phase at The Grove in 2022 to meet demand.
“The area itself is hugely popular because of the space you can get at a great price compared to London.” He says the houses Dandara are building in Haddenham tend to have more adaptable space and bigger gardens “both of which have been very important to buyers in the last year, a trend that doesn’t seem to be disappearing any time soon.
“Buckinghamshire will always be a gem of the property market regardless of how the wider market is performing. You can reach London in less than an hour” the developer points out. If it’s culture you’re after “Bucks offers culture with great independent shops, galleries, theatres and cinemas” says the builder – “it’s not a complete change of lifestyle for buyers moving out of the capital.”
Estate agent Nick Pounce, head of sales at Savills office in Amersham believes the house market will continue to favour the seller in the short term.
He says: “Rising interest rates and the prospect of increased taxes may well squeeze the spending power of wealthier households leading to lower levels of house price growth as we move into 2022. However longer term changes to people’s working patterns are still likely to underpin demand, albeit to a lesser degree than over the past 18 months.
“Due to the imbalance of high demand versus shortage of stock it will remain a seller’s market in the short term at least.”
The key to success for vendors, emphasises the branch chief, is to set a realistic asking price from the word go.
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