Guest-blog: Residential Development in Bristol, Bath and beyond

Martyn Swinson: Head of Residential Development in Bristol, North Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire guest-blogs, sharing his insight on Hamptons Residential Development expansion into the South West.

Our new Residential Development hub in Bristol & Bath opened for business in October 2021, as part of our ambitious expansion plans for the Western Country branches along the M5/M4 corridors. With the enthusiastic support of our fantastic country branches we now have signed terms for over ￡450,000 worth of business – much of which will be ready to sell in the fourth quarter of 2022 and into the first half of 2023.

The new homes market in our area has benefitted from the lack of second hand stock available with many buyers considering the option of a new home for the first time. Some of the larger developers are reserved as much as six months ahead of their build program."

In my region, we specialise in the small to medium sized developers who are building less volume, but often, are producing higher quality, individually designed homes with superior internal fittings and specifications. Many of these homes have been selling at an increased premium – because of the lack of choice – but we are finding that the market generally seems to be levelling off with less frantic bidding from buyers for the available properties.

The continued lack of available stock, however, and the strong buyer demand will, almost certainly, lead to prices remaining high throughout the rest of this year. Developers are also saying that land is in short supply – both with and without planning – and they are often being out bid by developers from outside of the immediate area who are also finding new land harder to buy right across the country. We expect the second half of this year to be very active with developers pushing on to finish their homes for the rush of buyers who will want to try to move in pre Christmas!

Find out more about Residential Development at Hamptons