Almost five years after the Great Flood of 2012, the three Glasdir showhomes are now for sale. They have freshly appeared on the market c/o Beresford Adams.
It was the day of the flood, on November 27th, 2012, that Taylor Wimpey abandoned Glasdir's show homes. Within were notices stuck to the sales suite entrance advising potential clients that the homes were "temporarily closed". That "temporary" period turned out to be a little more permanent than anyone expected.
Meanwhile, additional flood prevention works began in May 2014, funded by a series of partners.
It took till February last year for the builders to tidy up the whole site by, among other things, boarding up the incomplete houses that still languish, Chernobyl-like, unfinished and unloved. It was at this point that they cleared machinery, hoardings and plant. Meanwhile, the floodlit showhomes continued pointlessly illuminated at night, with interest from neither Taylor Wimpy nor the public.
Till now.
The three homes are of different types. Two are three bedroomed semi-detached houses but the more expensive uses the roof-space as a master bedroom. The third is a medium-sized though well-designed four-bed detached house which, at the moment, has railings preventing access to its integral garage. Asking prices are nothing short of value for money, at £150,000, £154,950 and £219,950 respectively.
That snoopers' supersite, rightmove.co.uk, gives the history of housing sales at Glasdir. Few have shifted and certainly not in the two years after the flood. Only one made a substantial profit (of 10 per cent). Three sold within three per cent of the original asking price. The price for two transactions was identical to that when purchased new. Three sold for either eight or nine per cent lower than when first bought. Three were marked as new builds when sold, including one in 2013 and one in 2015.
Indeed, there was only one sale recorded in 2013 and one in 2014, with four each in 2015 and 2016; and one between January and April 2017.
Will the exceptional bargains for the showhomes mean they'll be snapped up? And, more importantly, if they are, why can't Taylor Wimpey then shift the completed though moribund housing on the abandoned part of the estate, just behind them?
Empty for five years... the showhomes are newly up for sale
It was the day of the flood, on November 27th, 2012, that Taylor Wimpey abandoned Glasdir's show homes. Within were notices stuck to the sales suite entrance advising potential clients that the homes were "temporarily closed". That "temporary" period turned out to be a little more permanent than anyone expected.
Meanwhile, additional flood prevention works began in May 2014, funded by a series of partners.
Till now.
The three homes are of different types. Two are three bedroomed semi-detached houses but the more expensive uses the roof-space as a master bedroom. The third is a medium-sized though well-designed four-bed detached house which, at the moment, has railings preventing access to its integral garage. Asking prices are nothing short of value for money, at £150,000, £154,950 and £219,950 respectively.
Rear of the three has been re-laid and the shrubs pruned
That snoopers' supersite, rightmove.co.uk, gives the history of housing sales at Glasdir. Few have shifted and certainly not in the two years after the flood. Only one made a substantial profit (of 10 per cent). Three sold within three per cent of the original asking price. The price for two transactions was identical to that when purchased new. Three sold for either eight or nine per cent lower than when first bought. Three were marked as new builds when sold, including one in 2013 and one in 2015.
Indeed, there was only one sale recorded in 2013 and one in 2014, with four each in 2015 and 2016; and one between January and April 2017.
Will the exceptional bargains for the showhomes mean they'll be snapped up? And, more importantly, if they are, why can't Taylor Wimpey then shift the completed though moribund housing on the abandoned part of the estate, just behind them?