Who is going to buy all these flats?

[Frimley111R]

I understand that there is a housing shortage but I am confused. In the town I live in, probably like many towns I suspect, there are hundreds of flats being built and I just wonder where all these people are living that will buy them!

And longer term, whether there will be too many....

[Pothole]

Frimley111R said:

I understand that there is a housing shortage but I am confused. In the town I live in, probably like many towns I suspect, there are hundreds of flats being built and I just wonder where all these people are living that will buy them!

And longer term, whether there will be too many....

With their parents

[Jimbo.]

In shared accommodation, with parents etc.

Of course, most of said flats will be snapped up by BTLs, which doesn’t really help said individuals.

[Pothole]

Jimbo. said:

In shared accommodation, with parents etc.

Of course, most of said flats will be snapped up by BTLs, which doesn’t really help said individuals.

Of course it does. Renting is still living.

[Blue Oval84]

If the government allow the fire safety crisis to drag on any longer then, no one.

How long can it be before people really start noticing what a clusterfk it is to buy a flat now?

Friend of mine bought brand new in Dec 2020, I warned her to make sure she was totally covered from fire safety perspective, she did, all the certificates in place.

Six weeks later a section 20 arrives from the freeholder to let her know that they're setting up contractors with Waking Watch providers so that they can put one in if required because they aren't certain they won't need it.

In five years time the original safety cert expires and a new assessor can come in and easily order millions of pounds worth of remdiation if they think it may be required, and the occupiers are on the hook for it. Why would anyone want to buy into that rigged system?

[devnull]

I have a friend who is currently buying a flat. I've wondered what the fk she's doing by carrying on, as the conveyance process is raising, you guessed it, cladding issues, and she's hellbent on continuing the purchase. I'm past the age where I spend too much energy trying to convince people otherwise on such matters!

[hyphen]

Frimley111R said:

I understand that there is a housing shortage but I am confused. In the town I live in, probably like many towns I suspect, there are hundreds of flats being built and I just wonder where all these people are living that will buy them!

And longer term, whether there will be too many....

Immigration hasn't stopped due to Brexit, it just means that the rest if the world will be treated the same as the EU citizens.

The UK population will continue to rise. The government recently abandoned both the net migration target, and the minimum salary requirements.

And Rishi this week government backed buyers with a 5% deposit so cheaper flats will be in reach for more.

Edited by hyphen on Friday 5th March 10:55

[s1962a]

devnull said:

I have a friend who is currently buying a flat. I've wondered what the fk she's doing by carrying on, as the conveyance process is raising, you guessed it, cladding issues, and she's hellbent on continuing the purchase. I'm past the age where I spend too much energy trying to convince people otherwise on such matters!

Are these flats with cladding issues being discounted enough to make them worthwhile? Like is there a limit for the amount you could be on the hook for?

[MX-6]

I think flats are a reflection of changing lifestyles. Once upon a time you were perhaps expected to get married at a young age and then buy the 3 bed house to live in and raise a family. There seems to be a lot more people living on their own now for various reasons, be that because they choose to be single, or perhaps as a result of divorce. There is apparently a lot of younger people living in the family home well into their 30's, there needs to be accomodation for them going forward, plus people are living longer, etc.

[devnull]

s1962a said:

devnull said:

I have a friend who is currently buying a flat. I've wondered what the fk she's doing by carrying on, as the conveyance process is raising, you guessed it, cladding issues, and she's hellbent on continuing the purchase. I'm past the age where I spend too much energy trying to convince people otherwise on such matters!

Are these flats with cladding issues being discounted enough to make them worthwhile? Like is there a limit for the amount you could be on the hook for?

Honestly, I dont think any of these questions enter hers or other naive buyers minds.

As for the limits, I don't think there is a cap at present? You have plenty of scare stories on the BBC about people having 5 or even 6 figure bills to contribute to the cladding repairs.

[Taylor James]

People tend to forget that most marriages end in divorce so that's two homes needed instead of one. I expect the same is true of other relationships where the parties aren't married. Very different from a generation or so back when most couples seemed to stay together and it must have had a massive impact on housing needs.

[anonymous-user]

They are building hundreds of flats in Kingston, no idea who is buying them. These flats are on the one way system in Kingston and Kingston doesn't even have a fast train into London.

https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/developments/londo...

1 Bedroom from £585K
2 Bedroom from £746K
3 Bedroom from £965K

I can only assume it is foreign investors as somewhere to put their money or accommodation for their children while they are at university.

You could buy a house in one of the river roads in Surbiton with an 18 minute train journey to Waterloo for the same money.

There are plans in place to develop the unilever site in Kingston as well to add another 156 appartments

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/un...

[Pothole]

Joey Deacon said:

They are building hundreds of flats in Kingston, no idea who is buying them. These flats are on the one way system in Kingston and Kingston doesn't even have a fast train into London.

https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/developments/londo...

1 Bedroom from £585K
2 Bedroom from £746K
3 Bedroom from £965K

I can only assume it is foreign investors as somewhere to put their money or accommodation for their children while they are at university.

You could buy a house in one of the river roads in Surbiton with an 18 minute train journey to Waterloo for the same money.

There are plans in place to develop the unilever site in Kingston as well to add another 156 appartments

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/un...

People will be WFH much more so those fast rail links may not be as important as fast internet.

[hyphen]

Joey Deacon said:

They are building hundreds of flats in Kingston, no idea who is buying them. These flats are on the one way system in Kingston and Kingston doesn't even have a fast train into London.

https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/developments/londo...

1 Bedroom from £585K
2 Bedroom from £746K
3 Bedroom from £965K

I can only assume it is foreign investors as somewhere to put their money or accommodation for their children while they are at university.

You could buy a house in one of the river roads in Surbiton with an 18 minute train journey to Waterloo for the same money.

There are plans in place to develop the unilever site in Kingston as well to add another 156 appartments

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/un...

RRP seem too high for flats that appear to be not on the river. I imagine though that the 'bank of mum and dad' is quite high in that area with so many older boomers having benefited from rise in their homes. So wanting to keep their kids nearby, will stump up deposit/guarantees?

Have the flats opposite Sainsburys in Surrey Basin all sold? As that was also a Berley Group Development I think.

edit: yes, says all sold. But can't find prices https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/developments/londo...

Edited by hyphen on Friday 5th March 13:59

[kingston12]

Pothole said:

Joey Deacon said:

They are building hundreds of flats in Kingston, no idea who is buying them. These flats are on the one way system in Kingston and Kingston doesn't even have a fast train into London.

https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/developments/londo...

1 Bedroom from £585K
2 Bedroom from £746K
3 Bedroom from £965K

I can only assume it is foreign investors as somewhere to put their money or accommodation for their children while they are at university.

You could buy a house in one of the river roads in Surbiton with an 18 minute train journey to Waterloo for the same money.

There are plans in place to develop the unilever site in Kingston as well to add another 156 appartments

https://www.mylondon.news/news/west-london-news/un...

People will be WFH much more so those fast rail links may not be as important as fast internet.

That's true, but more WFH might also mean more people spending £800k on a house with a couple of defined office spaces and a garden further out than on a flat somewhere like Kingston.

[cayman-black]

My Mum lives near to Ford Europe used to be the main office (Warley Brentwood) and guess what this massive development is going to be a huge new housing estate, the strange thing is all the roads are the same as 40 years ago.

[kingston12]

hyphen said:

RRP seem too high for flats that appear to be not on the river.

Have the flats opposite Sainsburys in Surrey Basin all sold? As that was also a Berley Group Development I think.

edit: yes, says all sold. But can't find prices https://www.berkeleygroup.co.uk/developments/londo...

Edited by hyphen on Friday 5th March 13:54

I think most of that development have sold now. I was surprised, given that they were too expensive to qualify for Help to Buy, have a poor location and huge service charges.

Then again, the adjacent 'Royal Quarter' development from a few years ago seems to have a reasonable proportion of social housing tenants in now, so I'm not sure if the sales tactic is to sell as many as they can at the top end asking prices and then the rest to housing associations on the cheap?

[Frimley111R]

Taylor James said:

People tend to forget that most marriages end in divorce so that's two homes needed instead of one. I expect the same is true of other relationships where the parties aren't married. Very different from a generation or so back when most couples seemed to stay together and it must have had a massive impact on housing needs.

Yes but they get married again more than ever too.

[Louis Balfour]

Frimley111R said:

I understand that there is a housing shortage but I am confused. In the town I live in, probably like many towns I suspect, there are hundreds of flats being built and I just wonder where all these people are living that will buy them!

And longer term, whether there will be too many....

They would appear to be building loads around Nottingham; a city that wasn't really short of "luxury apartments" in the first place.

[kingston12]

Frimley111R said:

I understand that there is a housing shortage but I am confused. In the town I live in, probably like many towns I suspect, there are hundreds of flats being built and I just wonder where all these people are living that will buy them!

And longer term, whether there will be too many....

The problem is that everyone wins with these flats, apart from the people who end up buying them:

The Government get to boast about how many new homes they've built to 'solve the housing crisis'.
Local Councils are rewarded with a 'New Homes Bonus' for every unit built, so the more the better from their perspective.
Land owners (often the councils themselves) are able to sell the land for a lot more than they would for standard housing developments.
Developers are keen because greater density equals bigger profits, and councils are happy to wave through ever higher density because of the reasons above.

It's a gravy train that they won't want to stop. I should imagine that there will be new Help to Buy-style incentives put in place if sales do slow for any reason.