Proudly Scottish independent homebuilder Dundas Estates’s Craig Fairfoull tells us how they create homes to make people feel great and aim to ‘disrupt the market’ to make buying property a more personal affair
Can you tell us a little bit about Dundas Estates?
We are a multi-award-winning, independent homebuilder who creates homes that make people feel great. We are proudly Scottish, headquartered in Livingston, with an excellent track record of building well-designed homes with the latest trends in mind.
Our main focus is building friendly, integrated communities and making the journey of buying a new home more straightforward, more inspiring and more personal.
Is there any such thing as a 'typical' Dundas client who buys your homes?
We have such a wide range of two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom homes on offer, which are all designed to be both affordable and incredibly high spec. As a result, we attract a huge variety of buyers.
From downsizers, to upsizers, families and first-time buyers, we cater to a huge range of clients so it would be difficult to pinpoint a ‘typical’ buyer.
You've recently rebranded the company, why did you feel that now was the right time to do that?
In our marketplace, there is both an appetite and market opportunity to be more disruptive across our offering. The rebrand will allow us to anchor a niche position in the market, and ultimately improve the perception of our brand across central Scotland.
A lot of our competitors have similar branding, and ultimately offer fairly homogeneous products. At Dundas, we aim to stand out from the crowd with our focus on making buying much more straightforward, personal and straightforward than the industry norm.
Changing our brand will symbolise our shift to a more unconventional offering than our competitors. We have been providing buyers with multi-award-winning homes for the past 30 years, and on this anniversary year we felt it was the perfect time to launch our rebrand.
What do you think it is that sets Dundas Estates apart from its competitors?
We are set apart from our competitors in a number of ways. Firstly, our homes are high spec and larger than typical new build homes, creating enhanced living for our buyers, and we aim to provide this high specification while maintaining inclusive, affordable prices.
Secondly, we have a huge focus on building welcoming, integrated communities in all of our developments, through elements such as on-site events, facilitated by our friendly on-site teams.
Finally, we’re incredibly proud of each home we build and adorn each with a thistle in the brickwork as a stamp to show the property’s heritage!
How is the Scottish market performing at the moment, has lockdown had a profound effect on sales?
Interestingly, despite having around 75% fewer viewers than this time last year, we have retained almost the same number of reservations. Last February, we had 176 viewers with 16 reservations and this February we had 43 viewers but maintained reservation numbers at 14.
The reduction in viewers can be attributed to Covid but, overall, lockdown has not had a profound impact on sales whatsoever.
Calderwood
Which schemes are you focusing on currently?
We currently have three active developments: Calderwood, Pace Hill and Uphall Station Village. Calderwood is an award-winning 'Sustainable Village' development, located in Coatbridge, which consists of apartments, terraced, semi-detached and detached villas.
Pace Hill features a selection of two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom homes, located in the town of Milnathort.
Uphall Station Village, near Livingston, is our flagship development and one which we will continue to develop for the next five or six years.
We also have a very exciting off-plan sales launch in the pipeline for our The Wireworks development in Musselburgh, East Lothian. We’ve partnered with independent property brokers, Rettie, on the £35million development which we broke ground on in January. The project will see us transform a disused factory site into high specification riverside apartments.
The Wireworks factory which previously stood on the site played a crucial part in Britain’s WW2 effort and the historical heritage of the site is echoed in design elements of the new apartments.
Are you offering incentives to your clients, particularly first-time buyers?
Yes. We currently offer a Help to Buy scheme on all our developments on properties up to £200,000, allowing first-time buyers to place a deposit as low as 5% in their search for a new home with us.
We have continued accepting Help to Buy applications through the smaller development scheme, after the affordable new build scheme was closed last month to larger PLCs. We look to offer first-time buyers helpful solutions and highlight the options available when buying their first home.
Continuing the use of the Help to Buy scheme will enable first-time buyers to get on the property ladder while providing a sense of security that they can find a home without having to put down a large deposit.
Dundas Estates is focused on creating new homes that will make people feel great, and the Smaller Developer scheme will grant more people the opportunity and flexibility to purchase their desired home.
Potential buyers could also receive an interest free equity loan from the Scottish Government of up to 15% of the value of the purchased property. Recipients of this loan can then acquire a mortgage at just 80% of the value of their property.
Uphall Station Village
How has the pandemic affected buyer trends in the last 12 months or so?
In the last 12 months, we’ve seen an unusual increase in first-time buyers opting for larger four- and five-bedroom homes. Between 2020 and 2021, we’ve seen a 30% surge in first-time buyers purchasing larger homes at our Uphall Station Village development in West Lothian.
While the site does offer smaller properties, such as the three-bedroom ‘Robson’ style, first-time buyers have been opting for the four-bedroom ‘Matheson’ style and five-bedroom ‘Fullarton’ style instead.
We’ve attributed this trend to people being able to save more during lockdown. Our buyers clearly have longevity in mind as buying bigger for your first home enables space for a family without needing to upsize. The additional rooms can be also used as office space as more people continue to work from home.
What's the most exciting interiors' trend you're seeing coming down the line in the next year?
We are seeing a real move towards minimalism as people spend more time in their homes and want to make the most of the spaces they have. The ‘Japandi’ interior trend is one we are excited for and think will rise in popularity throughout 2021. The mash-up of elegant Japanese minimalism and rustic Scandi simplicity helps make the home a sanctuary which is uncluttered and calm - something we all need a bit of after the chaos of the last year.
And finally, what's the best piece of advice you have for anybody looking to buy a new build home?
Buying a new build property has many pros, including: lower running costs and energy bills; repairs and redecoration costs should be minimal for the first few years, and buyers can often select fixtures and fittings to tailor the property interior to their taste.
However, it is important to get to know the developers in the area where you want to buy and research them online. Look out for where they are mentioned on forums and see what people are saying. Visit the development, speak to people already living there and get a feel if the development will be the right fit for you.
Our on-site teams are there to help any potential buyer looking to make the move to their dream home.
Find out more at www.dundas.co.uk.