Opportunity knocks for home buyers
Although the property market has slowed considerably, it is as well to put the bad news in perspective. In fact there are still thousands of homes being bought each month. The latest figures from the Land Registry recorded around 55,000 house sales in May in England and Wales. And according to market commentators, and supported by the Land Registry figures, the actual selling prices achieved have not dropped. It is the asking price (mainly in the second hand market) that has fallen as sellers price expectations are revised downwards to suit the market conditions.
New home buyers Elizabeth and Mark Seaton, and Neil Kelty and his partner Lizzie have just purchased new homes. Independently both households see now as a window of opportunity to move up the property ladder and have bought to new homes at Bloor Homes' at "Whiteoaks" development on the Wirral.
Elizabeth, Mark and their two children, Millie who is two and seven months old Harry, needed more space and moved from nearby Wallasey. They chose a ‘Dunsley' a 4 bed detached at ‘Whiteoaks'.
Elizabeth said: "This is a really nice area, quiet and close to countryside. We first visited the development last year, but then there were only 3 bedroom homes available that we could afford. With the birth of Harry we just put things on hold for a while. When we started to look again the ‘Dunsley' house was just right for us. The part exchange offer and whole buying process was just brilliant and it was this that clinched the deal for us. We like living here so much that we recommended my brother to come and have a look and he has just bought a ‘Wolverley' house next door. I am not concerned about the current state of the property market because we like our house so much."
Neil Kelty was concerned about the market. Neil and Lizzie moved in to their new ‘Ashdale' 4 bed detached house in June, possibly at the height of the credit crunch news. Neil first heard of the development when visiting his father who read out a newspaper article on the part exchange scheme offered by Bloor Homes. Neil was living in a one had bed apartment on the 15th floor waterfront development in Liverpool. Looking for more space, the choice of 3, 4 and 5 bedroom detached Bloor homes was worth a look.
Neil said: "It was a perfect location and I liked the tall trees around the development and it was just 5 miles extra to my work. It was ideal and the part exchange deal worked out beautifully. Claire the Sales Consultant was really helpful in overseeing all the detail arrangements and keeping on top of the process. Now we are in, I cannot believe how much room there is in the house. No, the property market is not now a concern. I am not going to think of moving for some considerable time. I have a great deal now and a lovely spacious detached house and I definitely have no plans of moving in the near future given all the space that we now have"
The 33 detached properties at Bloor Homes' "Whiteoaks" development have a strong sales record. The final releases of 4, 5 and 6 bed detached homes are offered now. Prices start from £142,496 with ‘BloorHomesStart 2' option [normally £189,995]. ‘BloorHomesStart 2' gives people the chance to own 100% of their home for 75% of the cost. People pay 75% of the price before they move in and then pay 25% of the current value of the property either when they sell or in ten years time. This offer is available on properties up to £300,000, subject to terms and conditions.
The "Whiteoaks" show home and marketing suite is located on Statham Road (off Eleanor Road), Bidston CH43 7XS and open 10am to 5pm Thursday to Monday. Details are also on Bloorhomes.com.
