A GLUT of one- and two-bedroom flats on the market coupled with difficulty getting mortgages could become a problem for the Jersey property market, according to a real estate finance specialist.
Mark McNicholas, regional director for offshore real estate finance at RBS International, says that flats at the lower end of the market are ‘the one area of concern’ in an otherwise steady environment.
‘We get involved principally with the developers of building schemes,’ he explained, ‘and with the number coming on to the market in the next five years there is the potential for over-supply – and can people afford to buy them?’
Mr McNicholas, who was commenting in the context of the recent Jersey Construction Awards, said that more UK investors were looking at property developments in Jersey as a safe haven.
Article posted on 10th July, 2008 - 3.00pm
5 Article Comments
The problem at present is the cost of buying. As a first time buyer looking to purchase i can not afford the 10% needed for propertys over £300,000 then on top of that you have stamp duty and fees. As the property prices continue to rise more any more people will not purchase and we will eventually be like the UK and see a slow down in the housing Market. Good news for me!
Another example of joined up thinking not reaching the States group mentality. We have a shortage of 3 bedroom properties for families and a significant surplus of 1 bedroom flats. It means that they failed to anticipate the needs of Jersey families…or they don’t care about them!
Why not put some of the builders to work converting some of the units into spacious 3 bedroom dwellings for families? Admittedly, families want and need houses, but nobody is building affordable houses so why not create affordable apartments?
Perhaps there are too many vested interests at work here to make this happen for the benefit of people on lower incomes.
The design and layout of some of these flats are dreadful! Greedy developers maximizing profit have produced flats with little space and no thought to the practicalities of day to day living! For example, Where do I park my car? Where can I store my suitcases, coats and boots? Is a washer/dryer that takes four hours to complete economical to run? No wonder nobody is buying them! Perhaps if they were more functional and slightly bigger they would be more appealing!
What does Mark McNicholas, regional director for offshore real estate finance at RBS International mean when he states that “more UK investors were looking at property developments in Jersey as a safe haven”, in what way is it a safe haven?
ive seen some of these bedits (now known as studio flats) and they are tiny. i had to laugh when i recently saw one advertised with 2 photos. the photos were actually of the same room (ie the only room) taken from opposite ends. the price is embarassing when you consider rental costs of larger flats are much lower than mortgage interest costs of these bedsits.