Gardens sold to build Wroth Place in Burpham

As one drives around town to meet property investors and landlords several new housing developments can be spotted. One of these is Wroth Place, on London Road, in Burpham. It is being built on an area of land created by taking plots from a number of gardens sold off from a row of houses on New Inn Lane. 

The purchase of a new property therefore begs the question "Is it worth buying a new property or are you better of purchasing a traditional house?"

This new development is being built by Denton Homes. It has been named to reflect the local history of Burpham and its renowned Parliamentarian Robert Wroth who lived between 1660 and 1720 and served the borough on three separate occasions. Robert Wroth owned an estate near Guildford and was a close friend of the 1st Lord Onslow.

According to the publicity materials for the new development, currently under construction, "the site has all the benefits of being situated close to routes to the M25 and London with easy access to Heathrow and Gatwick airports". It is located close to George Abbot school and the new Aldi plus Sainsbury stores too.

Wroth Place provides a variety of accommodation including 3, 4 and 5 bedroom style homes. The properties have all been built on a small footprint so typically downstairs offers only a kitchen plus living room while the bedrooms are built over two floors using the loft space for the upper floor. The gardens are much smaller than one would expect with a more traditional house. 

Traditionally purchasers will pay a slight premium for a new home in order to enjoy the opportunity to be the first owners and to have no, or little work to do, allowing them to move in on day one. Sometimes there is a discount for buying the first property in the development to help fund the builder's labour and materials to enable them to afford to continue building on site. 

There can be a discount at the end of the project too should the developer be challenged in selling the entire development. However a smaller site like this is likely to sell reasonably well especially in the current property market, which shows no sign of flagging.

The question is therefore what premium is one likely to have to pay for a new house compared to a more traditional one in the current market?

The following properties have been released for sale so far:-

• Plot 1 -    5 bedroom detached house - £795,000
• Plot 2 -    4 bedroom semi-detached house - £610,000
• Plot 3 -    4 bedroom semi-detached house - £620,000
• Plot 10  - 3 bedroom end of terrace home - £500,000
• Plot 11 -  3 bedroom terraced house - £485,000

A representation of houses being built at Wroth Place

The average asking price for 3 bedroom terraced properties in Guildford is £350,000. This is a substantial saving on the new properties at Wroth Place. Semi-detached 4 bedroom houses are on the market for an average asking price of £575,000 so once again these are less expensive compared to the 4 bedroom semi-detached houses on Wroth Place. 

However the 5 bedroom detached house in Wroth Place is lower in price than the average asking price for a traditional 5 bedroom detached property in Burpham, currently priced in the range of £850,000 to £1m but these houses tend to be built on much more land and are likely to be far more spacious than the house at Wroth Place.

When buying a traditional 5 bedroom house in Burpham you are more than likely going to be buying much more house for your money. If only the room dimensions and floor space calculations for Wroth Place were available so that this could be confirmed.

If you would like to have a chat about property prices in Guildford or a general discussion on investment opportunities in the area your call will always be welcome. Phone 01483 320207 or email richard@guildfordpropertyblog.co.uk