Wed 14 May 2008
A Bit Rich
Hypocrisy is alive and well and living, in some comfort, in The Bishops Avenue, Hampstead, London, N2. News that Lakshmi Mittal, the steel magnate and one of the world's richest men, is selling his £40 million house in London's billionaire's row because Barratt is building apartments next door is, well, a bit rich.I have not had the pleasure of dining at Mittal's Summer Palace, but anybody that calls their temple of excess Summer Palace gets my bad taste vote straightaway, even before I've seen the cushions. The Bishops Avenue may exude wealth. But taste? Do me a favour. Most of the mansions are hideous. Barratt is always lazily tarred with the 'row of identikit boxes' brush, but when they have a healthy budget to spend, and one assumes with prices from £4 to £11 million they will not stint, they do contemporary architecture really rather well. Mind you calling the flats at Allingham Court names such as The Pushkin and the Getty hints at the sort of buyer Barratt is looking to attract.
Turf wars
A colleague of Squirrel's has, after many years covering the housebuilding market, decided to buy brand new and off-plan. Be it the move from hell or a warm and cuddly experience from start to finish, I am sure the editor can persuade our colleague to give us his diary of a new homes purchase once complete.
Whatever you do, do not mention turfing the back garden. It turns him from Alan Titchmarsh into Gordon Ramsay. But if you want to make him giggle ask him about materials he has learnt about, such as tumescent mastick.
Nelson surveys
I hate surveys. Well eight out of ten of them anyway. It is invariably self-serving, one-eyed nonsense and the surveys - yes I include myself in this category - are usually lapped up by idol hacks with space to fill. An example - actually millions of them - hit my desk recently. Apparently a survey of 400 people found that the internet is now the preferred method of searching for property.
It may well be true. But the survey was undertaken by HotProperty.co.uk. Overseas agents are the worst. "Bulgaria is the hottest hot spot in the world," says website We Would Say That We Sell Bulgaria.com. How refreshing if HotProperty.co.uk said: "Online is dead. Long live print". Having said all that, research from Show House magazine and showhouse.co.uk, which launches this month, has revealed that the combination of print and online is the ultimate media platform for both readers and advertisers in the housebuilding sector...
Bananas appealTalking of surveys, one lands from the Council to Protect Rural England (CPRE) which is ridiculous. Or as the British Property Federation described it: "hilarious." The survey "found little appetite for the government's housebuilding plans" and was released to coincide with the CPRE taking out expensive advertisements in the national press questioning the government's approach to housing. Suggest to anybody that new homes will concrete over our green and pleasant land and the NIMBY (Not in my back yard) becomes a BANANA (Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone).
Ian Fletcher of the British Property Federation, while correctly stating the obvious that the countryside is a big place, covering most of the UK land mass and not all of it beautiful, said: "What is required in this debate is balance and quality of evidence, something this survey contributes nothing to."
But hang on. I dig a little deeper into the survey and find some interesting results. When asked the question "do you support or oppose the government's policy of building three million new homes by the year 2020," 16 per cent expressed strong support and 26 per cent said they would tend to support. Now, in my view, 42 per cent in favour is actually a slap in the face for the CPRE. Little appetite? I find that is quite a healthy appetite.
The question which sums up exactly where the CPRE is coming from - namely developer bashing - reads: "Who do you think will benefit most from the government's plans to build the homes?" 50 per cent said landowners and property developers. Well yes, rather like J.K. Rowling benefiting from millions of people reading her books. Housebuilders are not registered charities. Unlike the CPRE.
Bill Bryson is one of my favourite authors. Is he really the CPRE president? I think we should meet.
Prop IdolBank of Scotland Corporate has launched a £30 million search for property entrepreneurs. Three UK property pioneers demonstrating passion and a true entrepreneurial spirit have the chance to win £10 million interest free funding each. The search covers three territories - Scotland and the North, Midlands and East Anglia, the South and Wales.
The three regional winners go to a national final. Regional judges include Stewart Milne of the Stewart Milne Group and Peter Jones of Emerson Holdings. You can download an entry form fromwww.thebossearch.co.uk.
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