A slowdown in the housing market makes high-end regeneration schemes more attractive to buyers, according to property professionals.
Unlike some lower-market developers, who have seen sales drop off, high-end developers are continuing to make strong sales as the well-off still have enough money to buy property, but do so more cautiously, according to John Hitchcox, chairman and chief executive of property design and developer group YOO.
'The opportunities presented in a quieter market are that there is a general flight to quality,' he said. 'People become more discerning, so branded, designer products are doing better than ordinary developments.'
He said his company's ManYOO residential development of 1,036 flats in Manchester's Salford Quays regeneration zone was drawing buyers, particularly those working in the area's expanding creative services sector. Prices start at GBP98,500 (HK$1.53million) for a 'smartpad' studio flat.
'In Salford Quays, we sold 302 apartments over the past three months, from 480 in total,' Mr Hitchcox said. 'In Leeds we've heard a lot about the downturn, but we sold nearly 1,000 apartments over the past year. What's more, there have been no buyers faltering on their step payments.'
He said a regeneration area became a new boundary during a market slowdown, marking it out as a strong market compared to neighbouring areas which were not being regenerated.
Citing Canary Wharf as an example, he said even if upmarket regeneration schemes struggled during a downturn, they could become successful when the market recovered.