Research from social impact developer CAPITAL&CENTRIC has shown that less than 2 per cent of the Manchester residential market is prioritising sales to owner-occupiers.
Examining new build homes on the market in Manchester city centre for £250,000 and under (via Rightmove in May 2020) CAPITAL&CENTRIC uncovered that 76 per cent were aimed at investors.
47 per cent of homes for sale appeared to be marketed primarily at investors, focusing on promoting predicted yields on investment.
A further 29 per cent were targeted solely at investors, requiring hefty deposits and in many cases specifying “buy-to-let” or “investors” only.
Just four developments in the city centre were aimed at owner-occupiers only.
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Two of those were CAPITAL&CENTRIC’s CRUSADER and PHOENIX on Chapeltown Street in Piccadilly East.
CAPITAL&CENTRIC
CAPITAL&CENTRIC previously made headlines for creating an owner-occupier community and banning investors when it launched Crusader Mill in 2017.
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Their research arrives as the developer nears completion on the Phoenix development next door – which is also reserved for owner occupiers.
Adam Higgins, co-founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC said: “For us, banning investors has always been about creating a proper owner occupier community, where you can set down roots and get to know your neighbours. That desire to be part of a community has never been stronger as we’ve all come together in the face of coronavirus.
“Since lockdown we’ve seen loads of interest from people, especially first-time buyers, who want to live alongside other owner occupiers.
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“This research shows that many other would be buyers are still missing out to investors who are often buying up flats they’ll never visit, seeing them as investments rather than homes and either being an absent landlord or leaving them pristine and empty until the time comes to sell.
“Locals living in these flats, have bugger all chance of getting to know their neighbours, if they have any at all!”
CAPITAL&CENTRIC
Phoenix residents will be the first to move into the emerging Piccadilly East neighbourhood – recently named by The Times as one of the next greatest places to live – when the development completes in August.
The one and two bed apartments, designed by shedkm, are on average 35% larger than other properties in Manchester – another feature that has attracted buyers during lockdown.
Over half will have spacious balconies, with residents being able to access roof gardens and a dog-friendly green courtyard with fire pits and barbecues.
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Adam continued: “Most of us have had a lot more time at home over the last few months and buyers just won’t put up with poky, identikit apartments anymore.
“They want bigger rooms and outdoor space in a place that feels like home.”
PHOENIX is available with Help to Buy with prices starting at £195,000.
To find out more or book a viewing at PHOENIX, head over to the official website.
Property
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Featured Image – James Feaver (via Unsplash)
Property
Two Greater Manchester towns have been named in The Sunday Times’ best places to live
Thomas Melia
Esteemed UK newspaper The Sunday Times’ has published its list of the ‘Best places to live in the UK 2025’, and it features two Greater Manchester boroughs.
Us Mancs didn’t need anymore clarification to know that where we live is incredible but we’ll always take it, especially when the compliment is coming from none other than The Sunday Times.
The publication revealed its annual guide of ‘Best places to live 2025’ which featured more than 70 different locations throughout the nation.
Although we may have been pipped to the top spot, Greater Manchester is featured not once, but twice, which is pretty impressive.
Claiming the victory this year is the market town with a name as pretty as its surroundings, Saffron Walden, which is only 15 miles from Cambridge.
The locations were ranked through a number of key categories including transport, house prices, broadband, schools and a new addition, mobile signal.
All the contributors to the full list acknowledge the obvious missing puzzle piece,food, and we know if this was factored in a few more Greater Manchester locations may have nabbed the ‘Best places to live’ honour.
The first Greater Manchester based entry is The Heatons, a hotspot nestled between the city centreand the city of Stockport, which is actually four neighbourhoods – Heaton Chapel, Mersey, Moor and Norris.
These areas are home to living history in the form of the iconic century old Savoy Cinema and lots of open green spaces.
Food may have been missed off The Sunday Times’ list but it certainly didn’t go a miss on ours.
Mossley has been named on The Sunday Times Best Places to Live list. Credit: Instagram, @ariadneexploresThe Heatons also made the list. Credit: Instagram, @fourtheheatons
The second spot which managed to grab the title of ‘Best places to live 2025’ is Mossley, a town packed to the brim with cosy cottages, blissful walks and a close-knit friendly community.
It’s not too far from Dovestone Reservoir and the Peak District National Park – when you’ve got all this greenery on your doorstep you’re bound to be in a good mood.
Our friends over in Leeds at The Hoothave lots to cheer about as Ilkley, Hebden Bridge, Easingwold and Ripon all got a mention.
You can find out the full rundown on all the spots up and down the country that have been selected as part of ‘The Sunday Times’ Best places to live for 2025′ HERE.
The Manc -
14th July 2020 
