Barratt Homes sets its sight on buyers in Asia to move new product launches
By Timothy Tay
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
With units selling for about GBP800 psf at Bermondsey Heights, it is the more affordable off-plan new project in London’s Zone 2.
As stability resumes in the London residential market, property developers like Barratt Homes are turning to Asian buyers to move their pipeline of projects. In recent quarters, overseas buyers, primarily Asian, have been driving the London property market as domestic demand flagged due to high mortgage rates.
Barratt Homes is a major residential developer in London with one of the largest portfolios of development projects. The developer has delivered approximately 200 new apartment homes annually for the past five years. This year, the developer is eager to reach out to Asia Pacific-based investors who are keen to capitalise on a relatively weaker exchange rate to pick up investment properties in London.
Inflation moderating
Overall inflation in the UK has moderated to an “acceptable” level of about 6.4% with most indicators pointing to a continuing downward trend, says Steve Thompson, managing director of Barratt East London, a regional office of Barratt Homes.
However, property prices in the UK began to decline last year. “Many market watchers, local buyers and overseas investors were taken aback last year at the pace in which residential property prices across the UK started to slip. But we are at a point where prices are starting to level out,” says Craig Carson, managing director of Barratt West London.
In Singapore, foreign buyers have to pay a 60% additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) since April 27. Singaporeans buying their second residential property will have to pay 20% ABSD, and 30% on their third and subsequent purchase. Some investors have therefore diverted their attention to the UK.
“We have seen a strong rebound in demand for UK investment opportunities since the start of the year,” says Carson. “We hope to capitalise on this by launching a couple of new projects to buyers in Asia this quarter.”
Launching in Asia
On Oct 14, Barratt Homes will launch its Sterling Place project in Asia. In Singapore, it has appointed One Global as its exclusive sales agent. Sterling Place is a 456-unit new project located in New Malden, an area southwest of central London. This will be the first time Barratt Homes is launching the project internationally.
Sterling Place will be launched for sale on Oct 14 in London and key Asian markets like Singapore. (Picture: Barrett London)
In addition, Barratt Homes is offering 42 new units at its project in Bermondsey in London’s Zone 2 district. The project, called Bermondsey Heights, is a 163-unit 26-storey development.
According to Thompson, the average selling price of GBP800 psf ($1,327 psf) for Bermondsey Heights is considered “the most affordable price for a new residential development in Zone 2”. The average selling price is equivalent to new projects outside Central London, he says.
The 42 units offered for sale in Singapore will be a mix of one- to three-bedroom apartments on the top six floors of the 26-storey tower.
Barratt Homes has made a name for itself by identifying areas throughout London that are primed for rejuvenation and this was exactly what the developer had identified at Bermondsey, says Thompson.
“Although house prices in Bermondsey are trading at a 23% discount to the Greater London housing market, rental demand there is strong and capital values look likely to increase over the next few years on the back of regeneration schemes put forward by the government,” says Thompson.
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