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Friday 15 September 2017

Knowle relocation project: building for a lucrative market

Developers would like to build a retirement complex at Knowle:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: PegasusLife appeal >>> submission from Neighbourhood Plan steering group

They specialise in luxury housing for the over 55s:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: Pegasus as preferred bidder... However, its proposals for ‘one of the finest coastal properties’ in South Devon have been rejected by Dawlish Town Council 'on the grounds of overdevelopment'.
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: the PegasusLife 'vision' >>> >>> "We strive to make all our projects unique, relevant and inspiring"

Including a new development in Bristol - where there are parallels with the Knowle development:
planningonline.bristol.gov.uk 

Although those buying such a property should exercise some caution perhaps: 
Thinking of buying a new, luxury retirement home? Think again | East Devon Watch

Nevertheless, building for this market continues to be ever so lucrative:


MARKET INTELLIGENCE

Go large: it’s the new way to downsize


Empty-nesters who are selling want party pads with room to entertain, security and smart gadgets

Francesca Steele

September 15 2017, The Times



In Hyde Park Gardens, central London, this four-bedroom mews with a roof terrace is on the market for £6.95 million with Russell Simpson

You’ve spent the past few decades raising a family, getting promoted and turning the house into a home. Now you’re expected to sell and move into something smaller, freeing up equity and housing stock for the next generation.

Downsizing is the traditional trajectory of the retiree. New research suggests, however, that although homeowners in their fifties and sixties are indeed selling, what empty-nesters want is not somewhere smaller or simpler, but somewhere swankier. Not for them the simple suburban flat with adjacent golf course. They want flats with smart technology, mod cons, on site facilities, more living space instead of extra bedrooms, and a security system that makes it easy to lock up and leave when they go travelling. Preferably, too, a smart bath, so they can switch the taps on while they’re sitting on the sofa.

While the trend has been growing in London for some time, it has rippled out to the rest of the country as more luxurious developments are built in Manchester, Bristol and Birmingham. The average downsizer new-build flat bought last year was 1,100 sq ft, twice the size of the average UK flat, according to Savills.



A four-bedroom mews in Knightsbridge is £6.5 million with Lurot Brand, Strutt & Parker and Rokstone

Older movers are also choosing units with more entertainment space and fewer bedrooms, so if their kids still want them to host Christmas, they can find an Airbnb close by. These buyers make up 20 per cent of Savills’ buyers, which means they’re a force for estate agencies and developers to reckon with.

George Cardale, the head of UK new-build sales at Savills, says: “This is a shift not only in terms of housing, but in what people want to do with their time. People selling the home they have raised a family in do not necessarily want to play a few rounds of golf and that’s it. They want to be in cities, seeing shows, going abroad and enjoying mod cons. They are also much more likely to ask for smart technology.”


Go large: it’s the new way to downsize | Bricks & Mortar | The Times & The Sunday Times
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