London house prices: Galliard is about to launch homes just for first-time buyers – and expects queues and “rapid sales”
We all know how tough it is for first-time buyers to get a foot on the ladder, with recent estimates suggesting Londoners would need a six-figure salary to buy a home by 2020.
So perhaps Galliard Homes is right to predict "queues and rapid sales" for its latest scheme The Landmark, which is being touted specifically for first-time buyers and parents hoping to give their children a helping hand.
The Luton development, on the site of the former headquarters of Whitbread and a former millinery factor, comprises 119 studio, one and two bed apartments. Galliard claims it will be one of the largest new home developments in the London commuter region that is aimed at those looking to get a foot on the ladder.
Prices for the 119 new apartments start from £149,995, with 80 per cent priced below £200,000, while all the apartments are priced below £250,000 – well below the average price of a home in the South East or London. In December it was reported that the average price of property in the capital hit £600,000.
Galliard has form when it comes to offering queue-generating properties. Its affordable scheme in Hounslow, where prices started at £199,000, saw people lining up more than a day before they actually went on sale – and all 215 flats were sold out in three hours.
Meanwhile its Canary Wharf venture, with studio flats starting from £350,000, sold out in four hours.
The Landmark homes will go on sale this Thursday (28 April) from 5pm onwards. Buyers will have to put down a £2,000 deposit to reserve a home. The scheme, at Park Street West, Luton, is scheduled for completion in summer 2018.
The studio apartments typically range from 335 sq ft to 375 sq ft, with a separate or semi-enclosed bedroom. The one bedroom apartments are typically 457 sq ft, with the two bedroom apartments ranging from between 537 sq ft to 661 sq ft.