Monday, October 27, 2014

"Buy-to-let opportunity in exciting location with growth potential"


There is nothing particularly surprising about the price of this single Deptford Project (aka 'Rise') flat being sold off-plan (before it has been built) by World LTD via primelocation.com. At £604 per sq ft, it's a bit pricier than the existing new-build luxury flats in the area (£593 per sq ft at Creekside Village) and after all, there are two properties on the high street presently going for £1m+ (a Grade 2 listed building on Albury St and an architect-designed contemporary building in Mary Anne Gardens).

On the Prime Location website the flat in question appears to be the only one left from this development – the others having been marketed overseas or via Conran Estates as investment opportunities with rental yields of 4.75% earlier in the year. (see our April post).


Our only reason for posting about it now is to share the amusing blurb being used to sell it. As usual, Deptford is "considered 'the new Shoreditch' (where prices are £1,000 per sq ft)" and "has more artists than anywhere in London". It is "an area poised to be a hub for young urban professionals". ...And it's only "6 minutes to London Bridge". No mention of the upcoming changes to the Southeastern train service - see our next post!

Property consultant (and director of 'Properties of the World') Jean Liggett writes:
I visited The Rise in Deptford, and the local area at the beginning of July – it was a gorgeous day and I left the town excited, for buyers, residents and visitors alike.

I took the train from London Bridge and it literally takes just six minutes. The development is right next to the recently rebuilt station and has its own private entrance – the first in London to do so.

It is also only 15 minutes from the City and Canary Wharf on the DLR, which is just six minutes’ walk away.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has earmarked Deptford as one of London’s ‘main opportunity areas’. [ No he hasn't! ] It has huge potential for capital growth and I think you are looking at a 5-year return of around 100% on capital invested in the Deptford Project.

I noticed on my walk that the population is a real mix that includes local business people, artists, students, parents with children, professionals and people from the creative industries.

In my opinion, the area is following the same pattern as Shoreditch did a few years ago – the ‘trendies’ move in first, prices rise, and the professionals follow. There is already a lot of building going on, as well as some recently completed building.

The Deptford Project is about a 10-minute walk from the river with fabulous views of Canary Wharf. A bit further on you can see the Gherkin.

This is an exciting area that until now has been slow to experience the price rises of other parts of London. But with its regeneration underway and its excellent transport links, the area has huge potential for capital growth.
Ironically, the statistics posted in Prime Location's 'Local Info' show a more recognisable picture: 


5 comments:

  1. Interesting charts - it shows SE8 needs more private ownership to bring us up to the national average.

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  2. Der...privately owned by Buy-To-Let landlords charging above average rents and forcing other rents up? Nothing to do with people owning their own homes!

    Following your logic, the stats show we also need lots more employment opportunities, but building homes for the rich to rent ain't gonna help with that.

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  3. It still eats at me that the planning department invited comments about a 7 storey building, but this will have 9 storeys. Bit of a difference there! Local objection was intense, but futile. This is for the rich, entirely. They cynically invite the train carriage in, then kick it out but keep advertising it as part of the attraction of the area ...

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  4. ..Because obviously no people are going to be hired to build those homes..?

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  5. An insider at New Capital Quay (Galliard Homes) told us that 90% of the workforce involved in its construction were East European (mostly Romanian, employed by gangmasters). Whether this is true or not (and not wishing to fuel any right wing UKIP comments), the fact remains that the construction industry is one of the least regulated workplaces in the UK.

    It is notorious for its short term contracts, complex sub-contracting chains and informal employment practices, all of which leave workers open to exploitation.

    "The construction industry is a hard and competitive industry where rogue employers often try to gain a competitive (and financial) advantage – cutting costs by denying or abusing the employment rights of construction workers. There are still far too many workers who are exposed to preventable health & safety risks; who are paid below the National Minimum Wage; who do not receive holiday pay; who are unfairly dismissed from work; and, indeed, still too many construction bosses who continue to exploit workers through 'bofus' self employment and dubious employment agencies." George Guy, UCATT General Secretary, 'The Hidden Workforce Building Britain' (2011).

    As well as profiting from cheap labour, developers and construction firms are increasingly able to duck out of any requirement to include affordable or social housing in their developments by claiming the viability (super profits) of their project would be threatened, thus holding local authorities to ransom.

    So, Anonymous, slave labour is being used to build 'assets' for the rich to make money for the rich.

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