What will happen to city centre apartments?

Sapphire

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Central London is a bit different anyway, I'd agree. there have been flats here for a long time (there are loads of really nice red brick mansion blocks which are Victorian and Edwardian) and living in a flat in central London has been normal for almost everyone who lives here for decades. Few of the flats are newbuilds, for a start.

Yes, very true. Before this idiotic building craze (the ruination of many city locations) began, many people in London (not just central London) lived in what are actually fabulous solid, purpose-built flats, built at a time when housing was made solid and when some care went into making it look attractive.

It's only recently that every Tom, !!!!!! and Harry thinks he/she 'deserves' and 'needs' to have a four-bedroom house when they are in their early twenties. :rolleyes:

neverdespairgirl

Sapphire wrote: »

Yes, very true. Before this idiotic building craze (the ruination of many city locations) began, many people in London (not just central London) lived in what are actually fabulous solid, purpose-built flats, built at a time when housing was made solid and when some care went into making it look attractive.

I agree. For example, this is a very large (and VERY expensive!) mansion block flat in WC1:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-20305589.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

It's a very light 5 bedroom flat, and if I could afford it, I'd be very happy living in it.

Rabiddog_2

IN opposition to all this doom and gloom over the city centres.. an article in the (forgot) was relating how in USA all the ne-er-do-wells are being housed in the places on the outskirts of town, as that was where prices had dropped the most. They dropped the most because the cost of commuting was now a real item in most yanks budget. Our petrol prices have always been higher, but the cost of petrol, the time and possibly congestion charges will have the same effect over here. Ex=urbia (suburbia) will become the new ghetto for the homeless, impoverished and workless.
n.b. Most social renters are not neighbours from Hell, they(nFh) can be both owners or renters and sometimes Landlords. Cut the owners good, renters bad, nonsense ok?.:mad:

dhassen

zippygeorgeandben wrote: »

where are you looking out of interest dhassen?

out of interest

NSum

dhassen wrote: »

I live in manchester and I think the downfall of all these city centre apartments is a massive massive shame. If they are empty, or worse, if they end up with housing benefit residents or other, they will really really spoil a great city. I think some of the apartments look great in the centre of town, and the vision the companies where selling was great. I just dont think the vision of these urban oasis' will ever become a reaility, and they will fall to rack and ruin

..........................

I wouldnt buy in the centre, ever. To be fair that's a lifestyle choice now though, and we did want to live there, and own there a few years ago.

Hi dhassen. What would you say to how developments such as Leftbank in the Spinningfields area will do out of this? I can't imagine any dss ending up in there with it being in the business district and along the extortionate cost of the service charges whiich made me choke when i discovered how much it was.

Still it's one of the most peaceful parts and is lovely to walk around at any time during the day or evening. So apart from the obvious house prices falling there as well does anyone reckon places like this will stand up five years down the line above others? I say this as it is still is one of the few blocks i would only consider buying an apartment in becuase of the area and the standard inside the flats and communal areas.

NSum

I would also be a crime if the regeneration schemes were shelved in line with what's happening with properties. I hope the Crescent, Irwell City Park, Middlewood Locks retail and the Chapel Street regen plans go ahead. Surely improvements on these scales will attract home buyers at some point.

baby_boomer

Guardian

A great quote about the failed "City Living" experiment.

"One of the firms behind the 'city living' experiment that began in Leeds now says the idea needs a radical overhaul. 'There was so much government spin around targets that we blindly thought gluts of one- and two-bedroom flats were partly, perhaps significantly, the answer to our problems. What we didn't consider is that the apartments were being built above pubs and clubs, and the growing numbers of single-person households we were being told about were actually little old ladies outliving their male partners,' says Liam Bailey of Knight Frank."

As their website says, "Knight Frank UK are expert estate agents." :rotfl:

PasturesNew

baby_boomer wrote: »

What we didn't consider is that the apartments were being built above pubs and clubs, and the growing numbers of single-person households we were being told about were actually little old ladies outliving their male partners,' says Liam Bailey of Knight Frank."

As their website says, "Knight Frank UK are expert estate agents." :rotfl:

Idiots.

The most basic of research (2 hours + google by somebody with 2 GCSEs) could have found this out easily enough.

lynzpower

I have been saying this for abut 18 months.

How many one bed flats does the UK need

If there is a shortage of anything its the 3bed plus family houses with gardens. ( however im not convinced there is a shortage, just a shortage of the places at prices people can afford to pay)

Muppetry.

Does anyone know what roole the Planning depts play in these flats ?I wondered whether there might be a clause or something to assess how useful a development is to the local population

mewbie_2

Just what the Hell does this have to do with House Prices?

Oh.

Sorry.:o