Bulk buying corporate landlords pickup discounted London luxury homes

London’s luxury developers are selling homes in bulk corporate landlords after  a  serious drop in demand  for expensive luxury new properties among individual buyers.

Bulk buyers cornered 40 per cent of London’s new-build sales in the second quarter  this year, who generally extract a steep discount with the aim of setting up portfolios of rented homes for large-scale investors.

Bulk purchases are masking continues drop in individual sales of new luxury apartments many of which are in Central London and the City high-rise schemes approaching completion.

Over 2, 008 new build luxury homes, 39 per cent of sales in the quarter  -were bought in bulk in the three months to June 2018, while private sales fell a third, to 3, 142. Discounts to asking prices of 10 to 15 per ent  were becoming quite normal, although 20 – 30 per cent are possible on some selected schemes.

The Bulk sale discount could create a avalanche effect which could trigger further sales among those who had been hoping to ride out the tough market conditions.

Several bulk sales are driven by lenders seeking to  protect loans to developers, as most bulk purchases were made by “build-to-rent” providers, including US group Greystar, Housing association L&Q,, fund managers  M&G & Quintain owned by private equity investors Lone Star.

Individual sales  this year had  mostly been supported by Help to Buy scheme, which provides state backed loans enabling people to buy London luxury homes costing £600, 000 with deposits  of only 5 per cent.

After land costs spiralled, the prices of new homes in Central London are out of reach of most owner-occupiers, as overseas  investors have largely deserted the market for individual homes, and also tax changes have dampened the  spirit of UK-based buy-to-let investors.

The new housing units under construction  had reached  a high of  68, 000 with over 46 per cent  of those still unsold.

Berkeley Homes  42 floor Carrara Tower with breath-taking views and a host of world class services on your doorstep, designed by Foster and Partners at 250 City road in Islington, London, who has been awarded the Customer Satisfaction Gold Award for 2017 was selling a single bedroom with 739 sq ft with an asking price of £.1.04m and a Carrara Penthouse with 1, 636 sq ft for £ 3.4m each.