Housebuilder Stonebond is offering savvy buyers across its impressive portfolio of residential developments with an opportunity to secure a new home with a fixed rate mortgage of 2% for two years*. 

The Stonebond Mortgage Cap works in a simple way; when the interest rate for purchaser’s new mortgage is over 2%, Stonebond will cover the remainder of their monthly interest payment.*. The total extra cost will then be calculated for the duration of the two-year period, which will then be paid by way of an allowance on completion. The value of the incentive will also be determined by individual circumstances and lender criteria.

Annette Cole, Sales & Marketing Director at Stonebond comments: “The Stonebond Mortgage Cap is available to help customers purchase their dream home at one of our stunning new developments in Cambridgeshire, Essex and Bedfordshire.  By providing a fixed rate mortgage of 2%, we are confident that buyers will have the peace of mind to make the important decision to take a step onto the property ladder for the first time, or either upsize and downsize to their ideal home.”

Duane Savage at Country Properties said: “Although it’s great to see that the market has been busy since the New Year, purchasers are still cautious. The Stonebond Mortgage Cap incentive provides them with an unmissable opportunity, offering customers the security and peace of mind they are so keenly looking for, the incentive also makes the first two years of living in their new home much more affordable.”

What’s more, Andrew Mannion, Group New Build Development Director at Mortgages First & RSC New Homes, explains why now is an ideal time to purchase a new home, despite varying market conditions: “The tide appears to be turning in from a mortgage perspective. Inflation is easing and the markets are pointing towards base rate reductions in second half of 2024. This in turn provides the markets with confidence, which has resulted in the first sub 4% mortgage product since the mini budget of October 2022.”

He continues: “Mortgage lenders are keen to lend, we have seen some great improvements to lending criteria and affordability over the last few months, since interest rates have started to fall. There has never been a better time since October 2022 to look to obtain a mortgage!”

Properties to purchase with Stonebond

Stonebond’s Wintringham development in St Neots is one location that comprises a range of three and four- bedroom, energy-efficient homes.  It is surrounded by the rolling greenery of the Cambridgeshire countryside and sits just 17 miles from Cambridge.

At Woodbanks in Takeley, near Bishop’s Stortford, 11 acres of open green space are home to high-specification three bedroom bungalows and four bedroom homes designed for modern living. The carefully considered internal flow of the homes deliver flexible spaces that work seamlessly for enjoying family time, entertaining, working from home and more.

An hour away from Woodbanks, The Appleyard in Flitton has three, four and five bedroom houses with many ready to move into. The attractive rural village setting is just 18 miles from Milton Keynes, 15 miles from Bedford and 11 miles from Luton. Surrounded by beautiful countryside, the Georgian-inspired properties blend country life with modern living.

A beautiful and preserved woodland sets the scene for the final development. Arranged in mews and terraced styles, along with detached homes that overlook open green spaces, the homes at Waterbeach connect residents with nature in a special, ecologically enriched environment. Final few two bedrooms apartments remain, while houses offer either three or four bedrooms -all ready to move into this summer. The properties showcase Stonebond’s commitment to blending sustainability with stylish interiors.

Property and built environment students at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) were faced with a ‘real-world’ challenge last week. As part of a Sustainable Development Challenge – sponsored by property industry leaders, Jansons Property – students in their second year at the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment (ADBE) were given the task of developing sustainable solutions.

Professor Richard Bull, Deputy Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment at NTU said; “As a university we thrive on providing real-life work experiences like this to support our teaching and help make our students industry-ready for when they graduate from NTU. We are grateful to Jansons for investing their time and sharing their expertise with our students. Collaborative experiences, especially those with a focus on sustainability, are vital in providing the next generation with a solid understanding of the challenges they will soon face as young professionals in their built environment careers.”

By bringing together students from the Departments of Property Management, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Management and Quantity Surveying, the aim of the challenge was to encourage industry-like conditions of teamwork and realistic addressing of sustainability issues. It was designed to encourage collaborative working between different departments – an industry imperative– and help students look at real-world solutions, alongside individuals from other disciplines.

“The property industry relies on collaboration – buildings aren’t built by individuals, they come together from a lot of different disciplines joining forces. We felt it was important to create a project where NTU students could engage in the same way professionals do and solve a real problem,” explained Paul Nash, Construction Consultant at Jansons Property.

Following a design brief, the students used their individual and group skills to consider and create sustainable approaches. This culminated in pitching their proposals to a judging panel at the end of the day.

The event was attended by industry specialists and staff who offered mentor support and judged the competition. It concluded with a dinner at NTU where the winners were announced, and prizes awarded by Andy Jansons, Managing Director of Jansons Property and a former NTU student himself, who commended the students for “their commitment to the challenge and the high quality of the work that they produced and presented”.

Students Krishna Bhat, Milo Connelly and Dishav Vasudev made up the winning team, and walked away with a cash prize and recognition of their collaborative working across disciplines.

Orlando Reid is setting the tone this year for marketing co-living inspired developments with the launch of Lofthaus in central Preston on the 12^th January.  The city has been proclaimed the number one place to live and work in the Northwest by PwC; in 2023, Money Supermarket ranked Preston first as the best place to raise a family, and it is deemed the top city for entrepreneurship in the Northwest. 

Cheshire family-owned development company, Belgravia are very at home in this vibrant region and in touch with what buyers and investors want – driving the initiative of creating community inspired co-living developments for people of all ages, who want an affordable flexible home and a more connected lifestyle with a broad choice of amenities, managed services and first-class technology under one shared roof.

Construction of Lofthaus is scheduled to begin in April and will be one of Belgravia’s most dynamic developments, designed by David Cox Architects to reflect the dramatic local landscape.  It will be the tallest residential building with 22 storeys centrally located in the city’s Market Quarter and University Gateway, dramatically mirroring the local landscape’s terrain and form.  Lofthaus will offer 307 apartments from studios to one- and two-bedroom flats and penthouses.  Studios start at around £99,950 and the most expensive corner penthouse with two bedrooms is available for £435,050. Construction is planned over 18 months and due for completion in Q4 2025.

Preston’s accessibility via road and rail has helped to put it on the property investor’s map. The city is intersected by four motorways – M6, M61, M55, M65.  It takes just 40 minutes by car to get to Manchester and Liverpool with rail services taking around 35 minutes.  London and Glasgow are on direct train lines taking two hours. For breathtaking scenery and country escapes, The Yorkshire Dales and Lake District are just 45 minutes’ drive away.

Baljit Arora, Managing director at Orlando Reid commented: “Lofthaus will be catering to the escalating demand for co-living spaces in Preston as a place-making community destination in one of the most exciting areas of the city.”

In the last 12 months, Preston has seen property prices increase by 21% according to Zoopla, Dataloft and Land Registry.  It’s modern university UCLAN has been ranked top in the Northwest for five consecutive years, and similarly for five years, The Times has named it best for the student experience – it has a student and university staff population of 60,000.  Currently, UCLAN is in the 6% of the world’s best universities. 

Belgravia’s Chris Newell said: ”Lofthaus reflects the type of development that has long been a successful residential model in the Far East and other major cosmopolitan cities. This is now gaining traction in the UK as millennials, professionals and students embrace a vibrant community lifestyle in a space that can flexibly respond to their changing needs.”

 www.orlandoreid.co.uk