Breaking Property News – 20/12/23
Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.
With a 21.5% drop in completed sales in 2023, will 2024 be a better time to sell your home?
Was 2023 a good year for vendors looking to sell and for residential estate agents in the UK, well the answer is no. Breaking it down the scores on the doors are pretty grim, in 2022 there were 1,124,765 completed sales. This year completions are likely to be 883,341, a minus of 241,424 properties for the year. A huge drop in the number of people moving.
It is not only the volume of sales that is dropping, in July 2022 house prices were up 16.2% on the previous July, but in July 2023 house prices were up by just 3.2% on the year before. With national house prices going backwards ending the year hovering around +2% to -1% against 2022.
So as a national average, agents completed on 21.5% less property and house prices declined, what then in 2024 will reverse this trend, or accelerate it? We are all about to find out in two weeks.
RO Real Estate invests to transform and refurbish Historic Admiral House in Windsor
RO Real Estate is delighted to announce that d-flo has relocated its UK operations to Admiral House in Windsor, which is situated in the historic centre of the bustling and world famous royal town. d-flo’s enterprise platform improves document and data flows that underpin transactional communications. The business also operates from Miami, Florida.
An architecturally significant building, Admiral House is a former Edwardian police station which has been sensitively transformed into a multi tenanted office space that contributes to the town’s flourishing business landscape. d-flo’s lease at Admiral House is for a five-year term on the recently modernised lower ground floor, spanning 1,894 sq. ft.
Now fully occupied, Admiral House offers a blend of snug areas, Zoom rooms, and traditional, updated office spaces. This Grade II listed building features an exposed services finish, self-contained entrance, new shower facilities, cycle storage, LED lighting, an open plan with meeting rooms, and parking.
The property’s refurbishment meets high industry standards, with a Cat A plus fit-out; EPC B rating for energy efficiency; and Fitwel certification; reflecting RO’s dedication to health and well-being in the workplace. The office space has also been comprehensively updated in terms of mechanical and electrical services, ensuring comfort, safety, and efficiency for all occupants.
David Kershaw, Group Real Estate Director at RO Real Estate, stated: “We have invested heavily in the external and internal refurbishment project at Admiral House, which necessitated taking great care given its listed status. The end result is a Cat A+ fit out, offering a much higher level of completion than normal market requirements. We are proud to have created a modern vibrant office environment with a Fitwel certification and EPC B rating that underscores RO’s strategy of ensuring the highest standards of health and well-being for our tenants and their employees in the workplace.
“The lower ground floor space, now occupied by d-flo was completely reworked and opened up, even making allowance for World War Two reinforcement structures that we found. The quick leasing, with the tenant committing prior to completion, reflects the strength of our strategy, focusing on rapidly modernising and providing quality office spaces. The building is now fully let justifying the investment made. We aim to continue this approach in future projects, delivering top-tier and sustainably focused offices that reinforce our position in the commercial real estate sector across southern England.”
Windsor, a bustling market town, benefits from royal connections and the Elizabeth Line, enhancing regional connectivity. Admiral House boasts excellent parking for its occupants. RO Real Estate was advised by Vail Williams and Christopher Thomas & Co.
RO is a family owned group of companies established in 1932. The RO has always invested in a diverse range of interests which today embraces commercial property, housebuilding, and venture capital. RO Real Estate, the commercial property division, has built over 1.1 million sq. ft. to date and currently manages over 300,000 sq. ft. of office, industrial, and retail. All acquisitions are funded through existing cash resources, meaning that the RO is able to move quickly if the appropriate investment criteria are met.
RO’s award winning housebuilder, Metis Homes, builds modern homes with traditional values and has created a diverse portfolio of bespoke, high quality homes in prime locations – from traditional properties in rural settings to contemporary town centre schemes.
RO Capital Partners is the Group’s venture capital arm. Capital Partners is an active, early stage investment partner principally focusing on: Proptech (the use of technology to innovate the built environment and real estate market); Cleantech (solutions addressing the challenges of environmental sustainability and the transition to a low carbon economy); and Fintech (the disruption of traditional business models in financial services).
RO Land was established in 2020 to build on the group’s existing successes in land acquisition and planning. Its objective is to add value to land by unlocking its development potential. It promotes greenfield and brownfield sites for a wide range of uses, including residential, commercial, and alternatives such as renewables. It has a long term investment approach which allows it to unlock sites that may be considered too difficult by other promoters.
The Group is committed to creating value for all stakeholders whilst also addressing environmental and social issues. This includes pursuing a net zero strategy with the assistance of PlanetMark to monitor the group’s carbon footprint, Membership of the UK Green Building Council, RO Capital Partners actively invests in business opportunities with positive environmental and social impacts and RO Energy pursues projects in renewable energy including a 5 MW solar park in Milton Keynes.
Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X
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