Month: November 2019

A BTR development in Manchester has topped the polls in a new report that rounds up residents’ reviews of their rental homes. More than 100,000 people around the country now live in a Build to Rent (BTR) apartment building. Initially, the sector was focused on London but now the regions are picking up speed both in terms of completed developments and projects in the pipeline.

HomeViews publishes resident reviews that give the developments they live in a star rating out of five across a range of categories. These include facilities, design, location, value and management. Homeviews has just published its latest report, rounding up more than 5,000 reviews from tenants living in 84 BTR and 438 build-to-sell developments across eight UK cities. The message for BTR developers and operators is a positive one: new build developments are delivering for tenants with more than two-thirds of BTR developments getting ratings of more than 4 out of 5. So what does BTR have to offer that is resulting in such great reviews?

Residents talk positively about communication, reliability, personalised service, kindness and – parties! Being pet-friendly, having a concierge and gardens, as well as gyms and parking got top marks from tenants. It’s also clear that customer service and good building management really matter. Management isn’t perfect, with 10 of the 84 developments receiving a management rating of 3 or below. However, 26 developments are delivering an incredible building management service and have been rated 4.5 and above. These include schemes managed by Allsop, Essential Living, Fizzy Living, Way of Life, Greystar, be:here and Legal & General.

BTR management is being handled in different ways – from apps, third party suppliers and building managers all called ‘Bob’ – presumably to make them easy to remember! What is clear is how passionate residents can be about the management team on site. The people BTR operators employ appear to be their greatest investment and it is paying off.

The Trilogy in Manchester tops the list for the highest-rated BTR development in the UK and the city boasts three of the top ten rated schemes. The Cargo Building in Liverpool came in second, followed by Dressage Court, Sailmakers and Vantage Point in London. Schemes in Birmingham and Newcastle also made the top ten. When comparing the average ratings and scores from BTR tenants living in the regions to London, the regions scored higher on every rating.

The US rental market is already familiar with the power of reviews with 70% of renters deciding to visit a property with a higher reputation score and 73% saying reviews affected their decision to rent.

The UK BTR sector is growing at a faster rate than anyone predicted. Earlier this year Savills reported that by the end of Q1 2019, there were more than 140,000 BTR homes complete, under construction or in planning. This marks a 22% increase from 2018 and is a figure 13% higher than identified at the end of Q1 last year.

To find out more and to download the Homeviews report click here

The Old Kent Road is probably best known for being the first and cheapest square on the Monopoly board. But it’s a road with a long and interesting history, starting with the Celts and then forming part of Watling Street – a Roman Road stretching from Dover to London and then up to the Midlands and across to Wales.

In recent times the area has become a hub for industry and transport with its odd mix of new council housing estates, retail warehouses and a traffic hub in the shape of the Bricklayers Arms junction and flyover. Burgess Park, now one of the largest parks in South London, provides locals with some much-needed greenery.

There are now plans for an ambitious regeneration of the area that could rival – or even improve on – the redevelopment of the nearby Elephant and Castle.  The proposals for the Old Kent Road are ambitious: three new Tube stations on the Bakerloo Line, a new town centre, 20,000 new homes, 10,000 new jobs, two new primary schools and a new secondary school; all to be developed over a 20-year programme of investment.

There are already 43 new residential or mixed-use developments either recently built, under development, granted planning consent or in the pipeline, providing an estimated 8,000 new homes. New homes developments on the Old Kent Road can expect to command values of £700 to £800 per sq ft. 

One new development on the site known as Ruby Triangle, will be delivered by property developer Avanton. Sky Gem Tower London phase 1 has just been given planning permission and will provide 1,152 new homes across five new buildings. There will also be a new community sports hall and fitness centre, new open space including a public park, flexible commercial space including incubator workspace and studios for local entrepreneurs.

As a known name in Build to Rent in both London and the North East, Ringley is delighted to have been chosen as operator for the Ruby Triangle scheme. Avanton aims to deliver homes where tenants want to stay, wıth options to trade up or down within the development, building brand loyalty with renters. With more than 20 years’ experience in residential management, we will have a key role to play.

While we are waiting for the Ruby Triangle scheme to be ready to rent, we will be using our knowledge of the rental sector to provide Avanton with strategic advice and working with them to plan each resident journey to deliver a lifecycle-led offering.  We will also be recruiting and training on-site staff, building up to full operational asset management.

We will be blogging about the scheme again as it starts to take shape, so watch this space. And if you live in London, keep an eye on the Old Kent Road. It’s all change from now on.