The development is relatively low-rise but has views of Tower Bridge the City and from the top floor
Posted in General on 26. Aug, 2010
The development is relatively low-rise but has views of Tower Bridge, the City and, from the top floor, St Paul’s Cathedral. Forty-five per cent of the development has now sold, but two-bedroom apartments from £275,000 are still available, as are three-bedroom apartments starting at £625,000. A bird’s-eye view on the top floor is on sale at £799,000.Buying off-plan may bag you a good view, but such purchases are also indicative of supply in general, says London Residential Research’s Geoff Marsh. At the recent launch of West End Quay in Paddington, a mixed-use development by joint venture partners ING Real Estate, Rialto, Wates and Westcity Properties, Mr Marsh explained why off-plan buying now forms around 90 per cent of all new-build properties.”There isn’t any choice. Housing supply is wholly inadequate, and the shortage is prompting people to reserve properties that will often not be completed for another two years,” he explained.Mr Marsh estimates that London will have 500,000 more households by 2016, and that 43,000 additional homes are needed each year. But these aren’t the only reasons he believes that this particular development represents “a very sound investment”. Citing the worsening of public transport and shortage of public services he says: “Paddington maximises control for busy people.”West End Quay will play a leading role in the 120-acre Paddington Basin regeneration, which, after around £5bn investment and a five-year construction programme, will be the largest project since Canary Wharf.
Ultimately, West End Quay will provide 456 residential apartments with prices ranging from £215,000 for a 388sq ft studio to £1.65m for a penthouse. Buyers will be able to coordinate their interiors from the comfort of a £500,000 glass pod marketing suite.At the private launch, for those who had pre-registered interest, around 40 apartments were sold to buyers who hope that their foresight will bring dividends.Perspective buyer Valerio Gottardo takes a similar view: “I am taking a risk, because my apartment won’t be ready for another two years, but I’m hoping that it will be a good investment which should be worth quite a bit more by then.”If it’s not, then it won’t be the end of the world but I’ve done this before and this time I feel much more confident and I’m certainly not the only one.”¿ Nicholson Estates: 07000 426566; Pacific Wharf: 07000 101066; West End Quay: 020-7706 1222; www.west-end-quay . Hometrack.co.uk is an online independent residential property index, a guide to prices and trends by area. The service had been restricted to Greater London with information “from more than 700 of the best agents within the M25″, but as of this month there is comprehensive data on properties across England and Wales. Hometrack.co.uk is an online independent residential property index, a guide to prices and trends by area. The service had been restricted to Greater London with information “from more than 700 of the best agents within the M25″, but as of this month there is comprehensive data on properties across England and Wales.
The site gives a monthly picture of performance for properties, using comparisons based on transactions agreed in the previous month.
December 2000’s figures show that W8, Kensington, was indeed Greater London’s most expensive area, at £1,185,417 for an average terraced property.But before turning up your nose at SM6, Wallington, bear in mind that this area showed the best performance for terraced properties, with an increase of 4 per cent compared with under-performing postcodes such as N15, South Tottenham, N16, Stoke Newington, and WD7, Radlett, who all reported a 4 per cent decrease in price.Critics may say information on “hotspots” is meaningless unless you track a particular area over a longer period. For example, December’s hotspots were shown as NW2, NW11, EC3, EN5 and E14. By February none of these areas features again and RM10, Dagenham, with an average change of 6.33 per cent, tops the list.Giles Mackay, who founded the site with Patrick Currie agrees that a longer-term view is needed but only in relation to hotspots. “Clearly hotspots are things people want to know about and they will soon be able to look at how areas have performed quarterly and annually.