The Civic Mayor of Doncaster, Councillor Duncan Anderson, recently attended the official ground-breaking ceremony for De Maulay Manor, Harron Homes’ newest development in New Rossington, Doncaster. De Maulay Manor will offer 105 high-specification homes on a 12-acre site, with two showhomes anticipated by March 2024, and the first residents expected to have moved in shortly afterwards. Catering to first-time buyers, downsizers, families and couples alike, De Maulay Manor is designed to appeal to everyone. A mix of three, four and five-bedroom homes will make up the development, which will be delivered under new regulations that include enhanced insulation and the installation of air source heat pumps, saving residents money on energy bills while boosting sustainability. In addition, street trees, cycle paths and footpaths will be provided to add a spot of greenery, and bird and bat boxes will help local wildlife flourish in the new environment. These green surroundings will complement the semi-rural setting of the development, which is positioned in close proximity to several scenic country trails and walks. In line with Harron Homes’ fusion of rural and city life, the development will also offer excellent commuter access to the nearby city of Doncaster. Natalie Griffiths, Sales and Marketing Director for Harron Homes North Midlands, said: “We were pleased Councillor Anderson could join us for this significant milestone as we start to lay the foundations for this exciting new development. Investing in local communities is something very important to us at Harron Homes; we look forward to seeing this Doncaster site completed and having our very first residents move in.” Councillor Anderson added, “It was fantastic to visit the site in progress and get a glimpse of the potential of this development. I’m excited to see De Maulay Manor become a brand new addition to the community of New Rossington.” A variety of buying schemes will be available for buyers to take advantage of, including Part Exchange and Home Buyers Schemes which expedite and simplify the moving process for a smooth and stress-free move. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

Sussex housebuilder Barratt David Wilson Southern Counties is launching an innovative new scheme to turn renters into buyers by helping them build the deposit they need to buy whilst allowing them to live in their dream new home. The new scheme, called Rent then Buy, will allow qualifying first time buyers to put down just a 2.5% deposit, exchange contracts and move into their new home straight away. It is being launched initially as a pilot in the Barratt David Wilson Southern Regions across the South East at its Ecclesden Park development in Angmering, Meadowburne Place development in Lower Willingdon and Ryebank Gate in Yapton. Using the scheme buyers can spend six months renting their chosen new home while their monthly payments build their deposit up to 5%. At the end of the six-month rental period, the money they have paid in rent is counted as being the remaining 2.5% of their deposit, and they can then draw down a 95% mortgage and complete the purchase of their new home. Adrian MacDiarmid, Head of Mortgages at Barratt Developments, said. “First time buyers often tell us they can’t save for a deposit because they are already paying “their landlord’s mortgage”. This is why we are launching Rent then Buy to solve that problem for FTBs. The scheme offers an innovative way to speed up the saving process, allowing homebuyers to get started on their new life in one of our beautiful new homes across the South-East.” The new scheme, which will be available at selected homes and developments, is open to first time buyers who are buying a home to live in themselves, have saved a 2.5% deposit and are financially qualified to take out a 95% mortgage. The home they are buying must be priced at no more than £425,000. The process of buying using Rent then Buy is as follows: “With saving for a deposit becoming increasingly difficult and with rents rising fast, Rent then Buy offers homebuyers a chance to seize the moment and lock in the home of their choice,” adds Adrian MacDiarmid. “Instead of paying private rent that eats up all their savings, they can put that money to good use as part of their deposit, all while they are enjoying living in their new home.” For further information about the properties available at Barratt David Wilson Homes’ Ecclesden Park, Meadowburne Place or Ryebank Gate developments, please visit www.dwh.co.uk / www.barratthomes.co.uk or call 0333 355 8498 / 0333 355 8499. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

The latest research from London’s largest lettings and sales estate agent, Foxtons, has revealed that just over a year on from the mini budget responsible for the declining health of the property market, the capital has turned a corner, with an uplift in activity helping to restimulate the market.  The research by Foxtons analysed the health of the London market since the mini budget in September 2022, the impact it had and how the market has bounced back in recent months. The latest full monthly transaction data for March of this year shows that sales have once again started to rise, climbing to 5,060 from the market low witnessed in February – an 11% month on month increase. Harrow has seen the sharpest return to form, with transaction levels up 43.4%, followed by Kensington and Chelsea (+42.9%) and Redbridge (42.9%). Sellers are also returning to the fold, with the number of homes listed for sale hitting 101,457 in September of this year, marking a full return to pre-mini budget market conditions, with every borough seeing an increase in stock for sale versus the previous low seen in March of this year.  Mini budget impact on house price The research shows that the average London house price* had been climbing steadily in the run up to the mini budget, increasing by 1% between July and September 2022. However, in the months that followed, it fell by -4.2% to a low of £520,961 in March of this year.  The biggest declines were seen across the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea (-11.2%), Brent (-8.7%) and Islington (-6.9%), while just four boroughs avoided a mini budget induced market downturn – Tower Hamlets, Hounslow, Greenwich and Havering. Drop in sales stock Further analysis by Foxtons* shows that this drop in London house prices was driven by a two pronged reduction in both available stock and buyer appetite.  In September of last year, there were just shy of 100,000 homes listed for sale across the London market. This fell to a low of 86,291 homes listed for sale by January 2023 and by March, total stock levels still sat some way off pre-mini budget levels at just 89,279.  Again, Islington ranked as one of the worst hit boroughs, with sale stock falling by -19.1% between September 2022 and March 2023. Waltham Forest and Lambeth also saw reductions of -19%.  Transactional decline But it wasn’t just a reduction in seller activity that impacted the market, internal data from Foxtons shows that there was a decline in buyer interest, with buyer applications falling by -46% between September and October 2022.*  Further research by Foxtons also shows that some 8,311 property sales completed in September 2022*, the third consecutive month that London transaction levels had exceeded the 8,000 threshold.  Following the mini budget, this figure fell consistently every month, hitting a low of 4,531 homes sold in February of this year.  Signs of the London market revival However, the research by Foxtons suggests that the London market has now turned the corner. Foxtons internal data shows that buyer applicant levels have increased by 27% between September of this year and October, with October 2023 also seeing 69% more applicants versus October 2022, with this number expected to increase further by the end of the month.* The latest full monthly transaction data for March of this year shows that sales have once again started to rise, climbing to 5,060 from the market low witnessed in February – an 11% month on month increase. Harrow has seen the sharpest return to form, with transaction levels up 43.4%, followed by Kensington and Chelsea (+42.9%) and Redbridge (42.9%). Sellers are also returning to the fold, with the number of homes listed for sale hitting 101,457 in September of this year, marking a full return to pre-mini budget market conditions, with every borough seeing an increase in stock for sale versus the previous low seen in March of this year.  Foxtons CEO, Guy Gittins, commented:  “There’s no doubt that the government’s mini budget caused an almost immediate decline in property market health and this impact reverberated across the entire country. This was no different across the London market, where months of otherwise steady momentum in stock levels and buyer activity were slowed by the uncertainty and market nervousness the mini budget brought. The good news is that we certainly seem to have turned a corner and across the capital, stock levels have returned to pre-mini budget norms. At Foxtons, we’ve seen a 26% year on year increase in new sales instructions. So it’s reassuring to see that London’s sellers have placed their trust in us during these tough times, helping us to regain our position as London’s number 1 estate agency in the process*, while the data also suggests that the capital’s buyers have now emerged from their mini-budget boltholes in order to transact.  As a result, the market is largely expected to finish on a positive note by the end of the year and this growing market sentiment should only be strengthened by the Bank of England’s decision to freeze interest rates in September.” You can view the full data tables online here.  *House price and transaction data sourced from the Gov – UK House Price Index (July 2023 – latest available) Transaction data based on March latest as volume figures for the most recent months are deemed not yet reliable for reporting. Foxtons buyer applicant numbers based on the number of buyers applying to purchase a property and based on the monthly totals seen in September and October 2022, versus September and October 2023. Note – October data not yet fully matured.  For sale stock levels sourced from Rightmove. Source of Foxton’s position as London’s number 1 estate agent sourced from TwentyCI data, H1 2023 v H1 2022 market share and market share growth of New Instructions at a brand level. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

Scheme Will Complete Conversion of Office Park to 100% Residential Under PDR Addington Capital, the property investment and asset management specialist and its investor partner ICG have started work on the final phase of their Headingley Park residential scheme. An additional 70 new residential units will be created at Stockdale House; the fifth and largest building on the site. Headingley Park is an office to residential conversion scheme in which four office buildings have already been converted to create 152 residential units. This final phase of 70 units at the fifth building, Stockdale House, will take the overall development to 222 units. Work has started following the NHS vacating the offices in the building. Stockdale House is being converted under the last major PD Prior Approval issued in Leeds and the new units will be provided over ground and five upper floors. The scheme is designed to meet current space standards and will be completed in Q3 2024. The Headingley Park development has proved attractive to young professionals and post graduate students in Leeds, due to being close to the City Centre and the University, in a large 6.5-acre parkland setting. Individual buildings provide 30 to 40 units which are predominantly studio, one and two-bedroom apartments. The conversion has been well received by renters to date, with the completed phases being 100% let and achieving rents of £900 and £1,275 pcm for one- and two-bedroom apartments. Headingley Park is currently ranked, “The best place to live in Leeds” by HomeViews. The scheme has a residents’ lounge, co working area and large landscaped gardens. Martin Roberts Principal of Addington Capital said, “We are delighted to be underway with the conversion of Stockdale House. The 70 high quality apartments will have spectacular views across the City and meet the growing need of today’s renters in Leeds.” “The Stockdale House development completes the conversion of Headingley Park from an in-town office park to a 100% residential development. We believe that this is an exemplar for Permitted Development conversion of offices to residential and a road map for future schemes.” He continued, “Given the falling demand for offices and the increased costs of making those properties energy efficient, we believe a relaxation of the size limit of new PD conversion, (currently up to 1,500 sq. m), would be a fast way to increase the supply of much needed residential from brownfield sites, with a low embedded carbon solution.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

Searchland, the development site sourcing specialists, has partnered with Rightmove, the UK’s largest property portal, to help tackle the housing crisis by further streamlining the ability for housebuilders to deliver much needed stock. Rightmove has been the driving force behind the evolution of how we buy and sell homes across the UK and today, boasts the highest level of traffic of all UK portals, making it the go to platform for property buyers of all shapes and sizes – including those looking for land sites, commercial plots and homes abroad. The portal is built on a wealth of data, allowing users to search by property type, size, room number and proximity, as well as providing information on mortgages, estate agents and most importantly, current market values.  Searchland is also no stranger to driving innovation within the UK property sector, having already changed the way the development industry operates, providing automated results covering everything from DTV letter sending, site sourcing workflow, strategic land data, DNO and HMO data, planning applications, ownership records, sold price comparables and planning constraints.  In May, the company launched in Scotland, making it the first site sourcing platform to offer data for the whole of Britain. Just a month later, Searchland also launched its integrated AI powered interface, dramatically reducing the time it takes for developers to ask questions of a given council’s local planning documents, both adopted and emerging. Searchland and Rightmove Data Services team up to help tackle the housing crisis Both platforms are the powerhouses of their respective sectors and their partnership is set to further streamline the property development process. While Searchland already utilises a huge amount of market data, the problem they and many developers face is the lagged nature of property data reporting.  While the Land Registry provides a great deal of data on areas such as sales volumes and sold prices , these figures are reported on a considerable lag of up to six months. This means the information being reported isn’t always representative of market conditions today.  This unique partnership will see Rightmove Data Services provide market comparable data to the Searchland platform from their own listings, allowing developers a real time look at how the market is performing.  But it’s not just the current value of potential land sites that developers will be able to benefit from. Searchland will also be utilising data from Rightmove Data Services to deliver insight on all properties available, both new-build and existing, as well as rental properties, not just those up for sale.  With this immense amount of data feeding into Searchland’s search algorithms, developers will be able to access a vast array of information from property build dates, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, parking availability and more.  And it’s not just the residential development sector that is due to benefit, the addition of live and historic rental data provides huge benefit for those working within both the social housing and build to rent sectors. Not to mention the addition of dedicated retirement home stock data, as well as information on auction trends and the sale price achieved.  In partnering with Rightmove Data Services, Searchland is set to become the most comprehensive source of information available to developers across all sectors of the market, providing an unrivalled level of data and insight, not just historically, but on the present day landscape as well. Co-founder and CEO of Searchland, Mitchell Fasanya, commented: “Technology has played a key role in the evolution of the property market and it continues to do so today. Whether you’re a developer looking to source a land site or a residential buyer looking for your next home, the speed, convenience and ease of the process has come on leaps and bounds in recent years.  While this is partly down to the ‘usability’ of platforms such as Rightmove and Searchland, the secret sauce to success is the abundance and availability of robust data and being able to provide such data in a quickly digestible format.  In this respect, the partnership between Searchland and Rightmove Data Services is a match made in heaven and the wealth of data they will be able to provide us will not only supercharge the Searchland offering even further, but add further value to additional sectors such as the social housing and build to rent sectors.  For the nation’s developers, this means even more power at their fingertips when it comes to site sourcing, allowing them to swiftly form a complete view of any given area of the property market, enabling them to increase the level of stock they are able to deliver in the process.” Simon Dawson, Director of Rightmove Data Services and Insights commented: “As part of the UKs leading property portal, Rightmove Data Services understands how important it is for developers to have accurate and contemporary information when appraising development sites. By working with Searchland, we are able to provide some of the biggest developers in the country access to our unique property and pricing data. This relationship highlights our dedication to enhancing the property development landscape and providing superior data in the easiest to use format” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals