Growing Development Company Offers New Homes Around London

This week, we talk exclusively to Joseph Rajah, who founded and manages Joseph Homes, a development company based in London that is working on a number of residential schemes that offer an impressive range of homes for sale.

Hi Joseph, please tell us a little about yourself and your company.

I’m a firm believer in the importance of creativity and innovation, and get on well with others that share that belief. With that in mind, I set up Joseph Homes to create product to be proud of, working with like-minded people that constantly try to challenge the status quo.

Joseph Homes is a London-based, multidisciplinary property development company. We acquire land, obtain detailed planning consents and build out to either sell or rent with our in-house construction team. At the moment, we have 25 dedicated team members planning and delivering an existing pipeline of 400-units, but are set to grow to around 70 for peak site activity over the next four years.

What developments and homes are you currently selling?

We are selling two developments. No.1 Millbrook is a scheme of 144 homes in an elevated position in leafy Mill Hill, on the site of a former army barracks. The development will consist of 111 flats and 33 houses set around a garden square, designed by 3D Reid Architects and styled by Amos & Amos. The other is The Tramyard in Balham, which is a 69-apartment scheme on an historical tram yard. Both developments will be on the market in early 2018. 

Are the buyers you see set on a new build home, or do you have to remind them of the benefits of this type of property? 

We do sometimes see buyers who are new to new builds, and as a result aren’t really sure what to expect. However, we find that the quality of the design and finish of our homes generally speaks for itself, so as soon as buyers come for a viewing they don’t tend to stay on the fence.

What makes your homes and customer service different from the competition?

If I had to point to one thing that makes our product stand out, it’s our exacting attention to detail. We are a design-led firm that started out in prime London delivering homes worth £3m plus. That same team, with the same dedication to quality, is now delivering our product in local neighbourhoods across London. We construct ourselves for this exact reason, to preserve quality and common-sense design.

We go above and beyond with our aftersales too and do not outsource that either. The customer experience needs to be in a vacuum. We control every aspect of the customer experience, from seeing our advertising to reserving an apartment, from progressing the sale to the completion and aftersales. If we do that, the only people to blame if it doesn’t meet our standards is ourselves and it is easier to learn that way. To better facilitate this we are in the process of developing an app to improve this customer experience. Our goal is to turn our customers into fans. 

Are many of your customers first-time buyers, and do they need special care and attention through the buying process?

Many of them have been, yes. Our price point looks to target domestic customers.  We don’t fly off to China to sell our product at the earliest opportunity. Our customers use Help to Buy, get help from mum and dad, and yes of course, help from us in the process. It’s really exciting when you have helped someone buy their first home. I used to be there for every completion. It’s a little difficult now, and I miss it. We also sell to those working up the ladder. Our homes presently range between £450k to £1.25m. 

How have you found the London property market in the last couple of years, after changes to tax and stamp duty, as well as the Brexit vote?

The London property market is not a market, it’s lots of markets. Having been involved at every level from prime to starter homes, it is clear that each gets affected at different times for different reasons. We were certainly affected in prime with Stamp Duty, and we have been affected in construction by Brexit. You prepare for these things by being creative and innovative. If you have those two values in mind with everything you do, you’ll always find a way to make it work. 

Are there still 'hotspots' in the capital where demand is stronger than elsewhere?

Definitely, and if you find out where they are, please let me know! One of the things I love about Londoners, is that when you ask them where is the best area to live in, most would say where they live. We concentrate on building product near to good amenities, transport, schools, and offer value. If you do that, you will have demand. Of course we look at public sector plans and historical growth to influence our decision making, but we can’t rely on it.Our product needs to stand on its own for us to invest our time.

I believe that south-east London has room for growth. We have just sold all our 43 apartments in Norwood Junction in record time, however they were on a quiet road, next to a station and park, and offered good value as a starter home. There were many strong selling factors for this development, which could also have been offered in other areas of London.

What developments do you have in the pipeline over the next few months?

Apart from the One Millbrook and The Tramyard, we have an exciting Build-to-Rent development off the Old Kent Road, which will be our first tower. It is currently in planning…fingers crossed! Beyond that, our land team is actively working on adding to the 2019 pipeline.