Here, Martyn Grimes, Operations Director for Miller Homes in the West Midlands, shares his thoughts on how the viewing process has changed in recent months for house hunters looking to buy new builds in the region.
"When lockdown measures were introduced back in March, it meant that for homebuilders like ourselves, work and activity on developments across the West Midlands suddenly came to a stop.
"Following the lifting of Government restrictions on the property market in May, we introduced a number of measures to help protect our visitors, staff and potential homebuyers when at our developments. These remain in place today.
"For us, the biggest change has been asking potential buyers who wish to visit a showhome or express interest in one of our plots, to book an appointment online or over the phone ahead of visiting.
"Operating on an appointment-only basis does mean that we are finding that many house hunters we speak to are now much further down the line in terms of their buying decision. They often know exactly what they want from their new home, and will have already decided which house style they prefer before even making an appointment. This is across the board too, from people looking to buy anything from two to five-bedroom homes.
"We are taking many bookings for appointments each week at our developments, and there appears to be a strong desire among potential homebuyers to get moving, a sentiment that has been aided by the Stamp Duty holiday introduced at the start of July. In the week following this, we saw an almost 16 per cent increase in traffic to the webpages of our West Midlands developments.
"Utilising the Government backed Help to Buy scheme has also been a common theme across all our developments, for existing home owners looking to upsize and first time buyers to help them get on the property ladder.
"The new Help to Buy scheme is set to come into effect in April 2021 where the scheme will be available to first time buyers only, on properties up to the value of £255,600 in the West Midlands.
"Fortunately, house hunters still have the option of reserving a plot online or doing a virtual appointment too, as we were the first UK home builder to launch an online reservation service back in 2017. During 2020, we’ve seen over 170 online reservations in the West Midlands, with house hunters able to select the property of their choice and pay a reservation fee to secure the plot at a time and place convenient to them via our website. With this already in place, it put us in an excellent position to continue to effectively support buyers during lockdown.
"Through the combined efforts of our determined buyers, and our adaptable teams continuing to deliver excellent service, appointments to visit our showhomes and sales centres are quickly being booked up.
"The next few months are uncertain, but one thing’s for sure, people across the West Midlands are certainly ready for their next move."
For more information about Miller Homes' developments in the West Midlands, please visit here: https://www.millerhomes.co.uk/locations/west-midlands-and-the-surrounding-areas.aspx
For guidance around visiting a Miller Homes development, click here: https://www.millerhomes.co.uk/promo/visiting-us.aspx.
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