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One-on-one interview: Jason Colmer, Barratt Eastern Counties

Posted 20 October 2016 by Keith Osborne

An exclusive interview with the East Anglian division of arguably Britain's best-known new homes brands and a look at its current and future developments...

This week, we talk to a division of one of Britain’s best-known housebuilders, posing the questions to Jason Colmer, sales and marketing director for the Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes brands in England’s eastern counties.

Hi Jason, please tell us about yourself and your region of Barratt Homes.

I have been with the company for four-and-a-half years and have been in the new homes industry for 12 years. We currently provide new homes in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Essex and Suffolk.

What kind of homes are you currently selling across the region?

We sell a range of high-quality homes from two- and three-beds to four-, five- and six-bedroom family homes as well as a range of apartments. So something for everyone really!

We choose our locations very carefully and look to offer our customers the best of both worlds by making sure their new home is in a beautiful area whilst still being close to useful amenities and transport links.

Do you have a "star" development that is performing particularly well and why do you think it is doing so?

We are currently building our ninth phase at Trumpington Meadows on Hauxton Road in Cambridge. This has been a particularly good site for us and seems to be a popular choice for commuters as it is close to the centre of Cambridge and you can reach central London by rail in under an hour. Again, this is a site where we have provided an option for everyone – from two-bedroom apartments to four-bedroom family homes, some even have the option of a fifth bedroom with a built-in studio over the attached garage.

I think the benefits of the homes being near a beautiful 148-acre country park whilst still being close to a busy city is what attracts a lot of people to Trumpington; it’s ideal for those who want the combination of a vibrant city with the privilege of open space and scenic views.

Trumpington Meadows was one of the first developments in the UK to win a ‘Built for Life’ award. ‘Built for Life’ is an achievement of excellence and a commendation for well-designed homes that are both attractive and functional. It has also won an Evening Standard Award for Best Large Development, as well as National House-Building Council’s Pride in the Job award three years running – so it is a site we are very proud of!

The county of Norfolk as a whole is also performing particularly well.

What kind of buyers are coming to your door right now?

Because of the variety of homes we have on offer, we attract a range of different customers from first-time buyers making use of Help to Buy as well as upsizers, downsizers, young professionals and growing families making use of our Part Exchange scheme.

Are you seeing a trend of London-based buyers looking to find a different lifestyle at your developments? 

Yes, I think people are realising that you can get a lot more for your money outside of London and they can enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside whilst being under an hour away from the capital.

Our most popular developments for London commuters at the moment are Essex sites Stanford Park and Maple Park, both in Stanford-le-Hope, Kingswood Place in Elsenham and Trumpington Meadows in Cambridge. You can reach central London by train in under an hour from all these developments. In particular, people seem to be moving from London to our Cambridge development to benefit from the urban lifestyle with close proximity to large areas of green space and rural activities.

We are also seeing consistent volumes of people moving to Norfolk, whether this be “coming home” of “change of lifestyle and financial security” as the key drivers for moving from London boroughs.

In terms of lifestyle, Stanford-le-Hope is still a thriving town with a lot of history as well as great schools, restaurants and shops, but with many protected wildlife areas and a lot of green open space. Also Elsenham topped the 2014 Halifax Rural Areas Quality of Life Survey and has some absolutely beautiful surroundings – something that London doesn’t offer!

Are schemes such as Help to Buy, Part Exchange and Movemaker popular with many of your customers?

Part Exchange is constantly growing in popularity and we are seeing an increase in existing homeowners taking advantage of the scheme across all our sites. Aside from being a stress-free move up the property ladder, using Part Exchange also means there are no estate agent’s fees to pay, no worry of a chain falling through, the advantage of a guaranteed buyer and in the case that the new home is already built, it can enable you to move in a matter of weeks.

Movemaker is also gaining popularity. People are finding it a great way to sell their existing home as it can save them from some of the things that take up so much time. We offer Movemaker as a free service, if you go on to complete your purchase of a Barratt or David Wilson home, and we will cover the estate agent fees.

Do you think it is schemes such as those that buyers find most appealing, or some of the other recognised benefits of new build eg the 'blank canvas', energy efficiency, no maintenance, long-term warranties etc?

People do like to stamp their own individual mark on a blank canvas. Both Barratt and David Wilson Homes have a range of additional upgrades which allows you to personalise all the fixtures and fittings in your new home. However, we still believe that they key driver is location, whether it be for commuting, lifestyle, education etc.

From feedback we’ve received, the energy efficiency of our new homes plays a big part in our customer’s choice to purchase a home from us. We create beautifully designed, high-quality and energy-efficient homes that are built in a sustainable and responsible way.

We are also the highest five star rated housebuilder and are 90% customer recommended, so many people come to us knowing that they are going to get a high-quality product and excellent customer service. We sell all our homes with a two-year fixtures and fittings warranty as well as a 10-year NHBC structural guarantee, meaning our customers have extra reassurance!

Are you currently offering any of your show homes on a leaseback arrangement and what can that provide to a buy-to-let investor?

Yes, we do offer a show home leaseback option where you can purchase one of our beautiful view homes and lease it back to us, however we are sold out of these at the moment.

This is a particularly great option for a first-time investor looking for a hassle-free opportunity. They get a guaranteed tenant for the duration of the lease, making for a fantastic investment as they receive up to 6% annual rental yield, which is paid monthly for the duration of the lease, guaranteed. In a lot of cases, the homes even include free fixtures, fittings and furnishings. It would be fair to mention that some show home purchasers are not necessarily driven by investment as we do have examples of purchasers with deferred occupation.

What does feedback tell you is the thing that buyers like most about buying from Barratt/David Wilson Homes?

The great customer service and high-quality homes are elements frequently praised by our customers, as well as the numerous schemes available to make the entire purchasing and moving process as easy as possible.

What's in the pipeline in your region over the next few months?

In the last couple of weeks, we have secured two excellent land acquisitions in Suffolk and we have other new developments coming soon.

We have recently launched a brand new Barratt Homes range, which features a whole host of brand new home styles. The new range has been very well received and will soon start to be rolled out on our developments.

We have recently partnered with the RSPB, to ensure that we give wildlife a home during and after the build process. This means making sure all our show home gardens are planted with bee-friendly plants and include bird and bat boxes. Some of our sites are even bringing in ‘hogitats’ (homes for hedgehogs) and insect hotels. We also ensure our customers know how to make their new gardens as wildlife friendly as possible.

We are also aiming to ensure that 95% of all our building waste is recycled and are always working to build in a responsible and sustainable manner. 

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