Buyers are turning their backs on one and two-bedroom apartments, especially those in new, high-rise buildings...

[MAB]

From the Mail online...but maybe worth a read for any potential 'new high-rise flat' buyers?

 

"Buyers are turning their backs on one and two-bedroom apartments, especially those in new, high-rise buildings, and the fallout will be far-reaching for the economy. Competition is fierce as to which of the high-rise blocks of flats on the south side of the Thames is the ugliest. But what they all share – in a mile-and-a-half stretch from Vauxhall Cross to Battersea Power Station – is a sense of abandonment. Hundreds of plush apartments stand empty, while others have been languishing on the market for years, with viewings few and far between. Shoddy workmanship, fears about cladding, exorbitant service charges and the financial burden of stamp duty are just some of the reasons why apartments are empty or occupied by people desperate to sell – even at a loss. The outlook is particularly bleak for those who bought a flat in a new-build. People have begun to realise that many of these new blocks of flats are not built to last and so you’re being asked to buy a depreciating asset. And that applies to the top end of the market, too.
Residents of One Hyde Park in London, regarded as the most expensive tower block in the country, recently won a £35 million court case against the contractor that built their homes. The High Court ordered the construction company, Laing O’Rourke, to fix defective pipework that was discovered in 2014, only three years after the luxury development was completed.
Then, there’s the ongoing cladding issue, which began with the horrific Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, when 72 people lost their lives. Trust in high-rise apartment buildings was destroyed overnight. The wrangling over cladding has continued ever since. We’re also still seeing the fall-out from the pandemic when a lot of flat owners wanted more space and moved to the countryside. Flats lost some of their appeal during that time. For years, developers have been allowed to build sub-standard blocks of flats, cashing in on the need for more housing – and "laughing all the way to the bank..."

https://archive.ph/62KS7

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, MAB said:

For years, developers have been allowed to build sub-standard blocks of flats, cashing in on the need for more housing – and laughing all the way to the bank..."

The brown envelope culture has been, is, and will continue to, rule the world. Personal greed is insatiable, ignorance is bliss (when they open the brown envelope and all is good....) and then these rats sleep incredibly well; the government just look the other way "b'cos they get paid" regardless.