A year after Linden Homes opened the doors of its new Guildford division, MD Peter Youll says the business has prospered in the town
While new businesses can take time to find their feet, particularly in a challenging economic climate, Linden Homes Guildford has gone from strength to strength in its first year.
In direct defiance of a broader slowdown in the property market, the company, which opened its new regional headquarters in Guildford last April, has posted stellar growth and developed an enviable reputation as the local housebuilder of choice.
The last week of February saw Linden Homes Guildford achieve its best weekly sales results to date with 29 homes being reserved in the first two months of the year across its six developments.
According to Managing Director Peter Youll, the results are a testament to the level of recognition of the Linden Homes brand as being synonymous with superior quality, location and lifestyle, as well as the extensive range of financial enablers the company offers to help buyers who have limited funds available for mortgages.
“We have always been particularly selective in the land we acquire, ensuring that future residents are offered a desirable location which combines a peaceful home lifestyle, as well as easy transport links and access to shopping and leisure facilities, services and places of employment. We are also a forward-thinking company and the sustainability of our new homes is of paramount importance.
“This strategy has ensured that our developments – such as Boxgrove Gardens less than a mile from Guildford’s town centre, and Gresham Mill in an idyllic river setting in Old Woking – are the premier choice for home buyers in the area.”
Alongside Boxgrove Gardens and Gresham Mill, Linden Homes is also building new homes in Dorking, Uckfield, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and Chichester. Among the developments is Graylingwell Park – the UK’s largest carbon neutral scheme, which features its own energy centre to power the homes.
Peter says that buyers in Surrey are especially market-savvy.
“Since our launch, we have been struck by just how well local residents know the marketplace. To their credit, they know exactly what’s happening with financial trends, which are the most desirable locations and postcodes, and where property prices are heading at any given time. So the fact they are choosing a Linden Home demonstrates their recognition and appreciation of the superior lifestyle and value our developments offer.”
Another factor drawing people to Linden Homes, Peter says, is the company’s launch of a range of mortgage products, designed to open up financial products to buyers with the desire and capacity to own their own home but who may have been put off by the restrictive lending practices of the major lenders.
“We’ve had a fantastic response to the launch of our mortgage products, particularly among first time buyers. Linden Homes was the first housebuilder to launch its own 95 per cent mortgage scheme, Step Up, which is already being used by buyers who are struggling to save deposits, or who have experienced a loss of equity in their current property. Additionally, our exclusive Part Exchange scheme has enabled many home owners to make move in just 28 days from start to finish.”
Even more gratifying for Linden Homes was the government’s recognition of Boxgrove Gardens as an outstanding new development, from where Prime Minister David Cameron and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced the Housing Strategy in November last year.
And, Peter is keen to point out that the success of the housebuilidng industry has a positive effect on the wider economy too. “It’s estimated that each new home built, generates 1.5 jobs and so for a typical Linden Homes scheme around 100 full-time jobs are created for local people, as well as local authorities benefitting in New Homes Bonus payments which support the local area,” he said.
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For further information, contact Lyndsay Scanlan or Amy Bryant-Jeffries at Remarkable Public Relations on 01962 893 893.
References to “we”, “us” or “our” are to the part of the Vistry Group (including Linden Homes, Bovis Homes, Countryside Homes, Drew Smith, Vistry Ventures or one of Vistry’s joint venture companies) from which you are intending to purchase a new home. References to "you” and “your” are to the prospective buyer or buyers of a new home from us.
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