While the chances of moving home in 2020 are now slim, it is a busy time for housebuilders to be offering some special deals on current properties and announcing the launch of new ones, and this is something well illustrated in Oxfordshire right now.
The county has a wealth of new homes developments underway which are catering for buyers on a limited budget and those who can afford some luxury. Many housebuilders are not just offering government-backed purchase assistance schemes, but also some of their own special initiatives and deals. The Stamp Duty holiday means there will be keen interest in securing a home early in 2021.
David Wilson Homes has just opened a sales cabin at its much-anticipated River Meadow development, which will be delivering 172 new homes to the village of Stanford in the Vale in the south-west of the county, close to Faringdon. This will include an array of homes with from one to five bedrooms and interested buyers can now find out more about what is coming up. The properties will feature a blend of brick and Cotswold stone designs that will appeal to first-time buyers, downsizers and growing families alike.
River Meadow
Rob Allen, sales director at David Wilson Homes Southern, said: “The sales cabin is now onsite at our River Meadow development on an appointment-only basis and our sales advisers are on-hand to welcome prospective homebuyers to this new community. We’re delighted to have launched this eagerly-awaited development and we’re looking forward to helping new residents discover the benefits of this beautiful Oxfordshire location.”
Everyday amenities are on the doorstep in Stanford in the Vale including a pre-school, a primary school, pubs, a shop, a post office, hairdresser’s and a village hall. Swindon and Oxford are well within reach and with the A420, A34 and M4 close to home.
There is currently a selection of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes available from £299,000. Find out more about River Meadow from David Wilson Homes.
Hill is currently offering a special deal on one house type in Bayswater Park, part of its Mosaics development, an evolving neighbourhood in Oxford. This part of the scheme has the Linear Park as well as open countryside to the north and views of The Greenway along one side.
The 'Hollinghurst' house style at Mosaics
The deal sees the housebuilder paying up to 12 months of mortgage payments on one of it ‘Hollinghurst’ house type. These contemporary three-/four-bedroom homes have an open-plan ground floor kitchen/dining area, which opens directly onto the garden. The master suite enjoys the added benefit of fitted mirrored wardrobes, and an en suite shower room with feature mirror and matching vanity tops. The family bathroom serves the other double bedrooms. Features include bespoke fully fitted kitchens, boutique bathrooms with fashionable large format tiling, higher ceilings than usual on the ground floor and oversized windows throughout. Selected homes also include a utility room and a study.
The ‘Hollinghurst’ is priced from £569,950 to £599,950. Other home types currently available range from £780,000 to £1.125million. Find out more about Mosaics from Hill.
It was recently announced that the Hanborough Gate development from Pye Homes has access to a new network of permissive footpaths created by the Blenheim Estate. With buyers’ priority of open spaces rising over the lockdown period, these new paths will help local residents enjoy their environment. To date, four circular walks varying from 30 minutes to two hours have been made available with start and finish points linked to the Hanborough Gate development.
Hanborough Gate
Roy Cox, Blenheim Estate's director, said: “The spacious immediate surroundings of Hanborough Gate combined with the back-door access to country walks, is a big draw for potential purchasers. We are planning to provide additional interpretation and information about the routes and local wildlife in the future to provide a richer experience. One of the real pleasures of living in this area is its rich history and heritage, and the outstanding natural beauty. We hope that by opening up new areas of the estate to local residents we will be able to share these fantastic open spaces with as wide an audience as possible."
Pye Homes, in partnership with Blenheim Estate Homes, continues to release new homes at Hanborough Gate, just south-west of the Blenheim Estate in Long Hanborough. A total of 169 homes will be built by May 2022, which include some available through Help to Buy, Shared Ownership and affordable rent options. Find out more at www.pyehomes.co.uk.
Building on the success of recent virtual preview events for their new developments across the Home Counties, Catalyst is releasing the second phase of houses at Hopefield Grange via digital, exclusive first-look events on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 November. Located in Benson-on-Thames, a quaint riverside village nestled in Oxfordshire countryside, the latest release at Hopefield Grange offers six two- and three-bedroom homes available to purchase through Shared Ownership.
Hopefield Grange
Catalyst's virtual events provide potential buyers the chance to meet the housing association's sales team via Microsoft Teams, as well as learn more about the new homes at Hopefield Grange, discover highlights of the local area, and get details on the Shared Ownership buying process. At the event, Catalyst will also be releasing the brochure and pricing for the new homes at Hopefield Grange, inviting attendees to book a one-on-one appointment afterwards to reserve their favourite property.
Markus Kendall-Young, group head of sales and marketing at Catalyst, commented: “We cannot wait to launch the next phase of Shared Ownership homes at Hopefield Grange. Our recent virtual preview events have been tremendous successes, with over 40% of homes reserved in the four days following the virtual launch of The Printworks last month. Clearly, first-time buyers are feeling confident to reserve a Catalyst home with the information they're receiving from digital conversations with us, which is a real testament to the strength of our virtual preview events. With only six homes available in the second phase at Hopefield Grange, we expect these to go quickly."
Find out more at catalyst.homes.
Case study: Warren and Vicky
For one couple, Deanfield Grange has ticked all the boxes when looking for a new home to downsize to. IT recruitment consultant Warren Jupp and his wife Vicky lived in a four-bedroom detached home in Chislehurst, Kent for 22 years but were looking to downsize a bit.
Warren explained: “We love the Cotswolds and have spent much time travelling around it in our motorhome with our two Westie dogs, Monty and Lola. With Vicky’s parents living in Spain, we decided we wanted to spend more time visiting them and move to a smaller home so started looking around visiting a number of new build developments in the area until we came across Deanfield Grange.
“We really liked the fact that it was a smaller development and loved that they were built using Cotswold stone. Jaqui, the sales advisor for housebuilder Deanfield, showed us around the development and we were impressed with the layout and quality of the homes and were definitely interested. Unfortunately we missed out on the three-bedroom, semi-detached which we were disappointed with, but with lockdown we decided to wait and see what happened.
“A few months later and restrictions starting to be lifted, we received a call to say the sale had fallen through on the ‘Claydon’, a four-bedroom detached home, which was in our price range and were we still interested?”
Vicky continued: “I was in Spain visiting my parents when Warren got the call and I was keen we didn’t miss out so Warren took a trip to the development. He facetimed me and showed me around the house and straight away I got the feeling that it was our home. Deanfield Homes also produced some virtual tours of the home, which initially I thought you wouldn’t get a feel, but as soon as I watched it I could imagine myself living there. Warren put a deposit on the house there and then without me even stepping foot into it!”
Warren added: “Deanfield Homes were so helpful during the buying process. We haven’t moved home for 22 years and last time it was just after we had got married and I remember it being such a stressful time. This time round we have been so lucky as it was only ourselves and our buyers and the process was so quick and painless.”
Vicky said: “The village is also perfect with several pubs, a village shop, lots of walks for our dogs and everything seems to be just five or six miles away. We are so happy we made the move.”
Deanfield Grange features a collection of three-, four- and five bedroom family homes, built using local materials. Find out more at www.deanfieldhomes.co.uk.
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