2016 was a successful year for the Butler Sherborn Land & New Homes discipline and it was a year in which the majority of our business was transacted with small to medium size developers building their product primarily in the villages across Oxfordshire and The Cotswolds.
One of the striking trends of the year was the sheer strength of the "down sizer" market place and the higher incidence of this characteristic amongst younger retirees and those approaching this time of life, so the 55 yr old - 65 yr old buyer. In The Cotswolds, this was clearly emphasised in the profile of
buyers introduced by Butler Sherborn to the Kearsey Court development on the periphery of popular Charlbury - a collection of bespoke built detached houses by H.Willis Ltd. 80% of the purchasers here fell in to this burgeoning demographic and the entire scheme was successfully reserved within 5 months of the marketing launch.
Architectural treatment of new homes has been very much traditional for decades, but it is evident that creative architectural treatments can attract buyers and moreover, buyers will pay more for a property that has had a more thoughtful / creative approach applied its architectural appearance. This was in evidence when Butler Sherborn acted for Paul Smith Developments in the marketing of The Paddocks development in the South Oxfordshire village of Marcham, just West of Abingdon on Thames. Alister Godfrey Architects won an award for the scheme and Butler Sherborn achieved £400 per Sq ft across development.
The Stamp Duty changes of late 2015 meant a reduction in the Treasury's take for buyers purchasing up to £937,500 in 2016. The Brexit decision has not deterred buyers whose appetite has been fuelled since by the historically low interest rates available across 2-5 yr fixed mortgage funds, so we at Butler Sherborn expect strong sales performance in the new homes market place in 2017, and for prices to remain stable in the quality / bespoke sector, given still limited supply.
The Butler Sherborn Land & New Homes team has a varied pipeline of new homes coming to market in 2017 and we offer developer clients a very driven sales solution in order to ensure results, whatever the market conditions.
Gavin West
Land & New Homes Department
Oxford: 01865 510000
