Estate agency expands as interest in newbuild homes surges

The specialist Land and New Homes department at Linley & Simpson has recorded a year-on-year increase in turnover of more than 50 per cent, and its team has grown from two to seven.

It said the surge in demand for new properties following the Covid pandemic, especially family homes in more rural areas, showed no sign of slowing down. It is also being boosted by rising energy bills, as buyers look for modern homes that are cheaper to run.

Linley & Simpson’s current portfolio of land and new homes for sale stands at 196, across 20 developments. There is an additional pipeline of more than 285 properties, worth a total of £85.5m, poised to be launched to market in the next two years.

The department, which is based at Linley & Simpson’s Harrogate office on Albert Street, already supports developer clients and will now extend its offering across its network of 23 offices in Yorkshire.

These include Bingley, Chapel Allerton, Harrogate, Headingley, Horsforth, Ilkley, Leeds city centre, Pudsey, Ripon, Roundhay, Sheffield, Skipton, Wakefield, Wetherby and York.

It will also strengthen its working partnership with sister companies Dale Eddison in Ilkley, Otley and Skipton, and Hardisty and Co in Horsforth.

David Waddington, the agency’s director of Land and New Homes, said: “Having grown into the largest land and new homes agent in the area, we now have a strong launchpad for taking our services to housebuilders in new territories.

“Developers can draw upon our team’s 130 collective years’ sales and marketing expertise in this sector, as well as take advantage of an aligned and connected branch network, which is set to expand further in 2022 and beyond.

“It will also enable us to consolidate our position as the number-one go-to agent on the property portals for land and new home stock.”

The past 12 months have seen the Land and New Homes team sell 306 homes, up from 211 the previous year. The average price of a new home has risen from £354,714 to £425,834 in the same period.

As well as record numbers of new home sales, the year has been marked by a raft of major new contract wins, including Brierley Homes, North Yorkshire County Council’s development arm; a growing number of housing associations such as Latimer and InCommunities; and numerous established house builders.

Earlier this summer, it secured its biggest land sale deal of the year to date – a three-hectare parcel of prime residential land in Church Fenton which was bought for £4m by developers Yorkshire Country Properties, who plan to build 50 homes on the greenfield site.

In 2019, it was crowned Best Land and New Homes Team in the UK at The Negotiator awards.