Anyone on new flats being built in New Malden (Kingston)?

[wjchoihk96]

Hi. I've been looking at flats in Kingston/Surbiton/New Malden area for some time and came cross a new development called One New Malden in New Malden high street. This is a 10-12 storey which is being converted from an abandoned office tower into new flats. Two bed flats with approx 80~85 square metre are selling around 500,000 while similar new flats nearby are asking 600K and new ones in Kingston/Surbiton 650~800K. I feel like this is a good value but they say only 25% has been sold since they started sales in February. I am just wondering why they are selling this at this (lower than others) price. Maybe because of Grenfell incident??

Any comment from anyone familiar with this area would be appreciated!

I'm not too sure about the price versus other developments in New Malden. Are the others in a better location? Would the development be affected by noise if it's on the High Street? Personally I think that New Malden is a really nice area and would probably buy there now given prices in Kingston/Surbiton.

I think a lack of sales is unlikely to be due to Grenfell as its a completely different market, there's no cladding on the building etc. More likely it's because the property market is very subdued in London at the moment due to Brexit uncertainty and the fact that lots of new build flats are going up everywhere in London.

Any property in Kingston and Surbiton will always be more expensive than New Malden as they're more desirable areas. The new Queenshurst development in Kingston has attracted people because of the proximity to the station, the river, Bushy/Richmond Park, 300+ shops on your doorstep, and outstanding local schools. To be honest though I'm absolutely shocked that one beds are going for around half a million and two beds for £800k. I'm a born and bred SW Londoner and live in the area but my God, go and buy a nice flat in Central London for that money.

Hi Crumbelina.

Thank you for your valuable inputs. The development is located behind a row of high street stores, so noise will be I think OK. It's about 5 min walk to New Malden station and the other developments are not really better. That is why I wondered but maybe due to general market situation as you suggest and the fact that it has 80 flats to sell, much more than others in that area.

I have been expecting (as a buyer) more price drops in the area but I guess everyone is just sitting at the sideline rather than actively buying up/selling low. Again as a buyer personally I fear things won't be not that bad AFTER real brexit (=house prices not so much cheaper) as markets always go opposite way to what experts/press say.

I am also shocked at Queenshurst prices! Nearby 5 year old flats are selling at 600K, 100~200K cheaper in Kingston. I just asked the agent to see if how much cheaper we can get for this flat.

Another insights still welcome!

I tend to agree re Brexit. I was reading an article in The Guardian today about house prices post Brexit and one of the comments below the article was excellent. I was going to outline a few points but it's easier to just copy and paste it (sorry, it's long!):

"This is what I learnt waiting to buy a house in the years following the 2008 financial crash:

1. Prices don't fall by as much as predicted because they're just not allowed to fall by much. Government will pursue policies to prop up prices.

1. Even if prices do fall, you don't just get the chance to cherry pick the property you want. Only those owners that have to sell will sell and those with the nicest properties don't put them on the market, they sit and wait it out. If you're not fussy and will take any property because it's cheap (e.g a dooer-upper) then by all means wait. If you want a specific type of property then it probably won't be on the market when prices fall.

1. Interest rates can and will be dropped to record lows (they already have been and can even be dropped a bit further.) This prevents many distressed sales which stops prices falling by these large predicted percentages.

1. Even with low rates, when the economy is depressed you may not get the mortgage deal you need and will probably need to pay a big deposit.

1. You have to take into account the rent you are spending whilst waiting it out.

Of course, Brexit is different from the financial crisis. Banks were propped up back then. A no-deal or a Canada style deal would likely see the biggest falls in house prices as there may be many people losing their jobs or suffering wage-cuts and putting their homes on the market. However, if you work in one of the affected industries you could be out of a job too. A soft Brexit on the other hand, would probably see a bounce and prices going up as confidence returns, so essentially you're gambling on what type of deal we get.

As always, the best thing to do is buy a house as soon as you find one you like and can easily afford."

We bought a 2 bed house in North Kingston back in 2009 after the financial crisis when the market was near the bottom. Lots of people said that prices had much further to fall but we bought it anyway and did pretty well. Echoing the Guardian comment above, it was bloody hard to get a mortgage and there wasn't much on the market at all.

Back to your flat though, good luck with it all! I think it sounds like a good prospect. Do you know the area quite well? I've always wanted to check out the Korean restaurants but two young children have put a stop to any social life.

Crumbelina
I actually live in Kingston (just behind new development areas along the river, so slightly northernish Kingston) and have lived in Wimbeldon/Raynes Park for last 10 or so years. So I am very familiar with New Malden but haven't gone to Korean restaurants there for ages! I am going to give offer to a flat in that development and I will see how much discount they would be willing to give soon! As you rightly said, there are many new developments going up in broad Kingston area so I would like to hear some more opinions about them~

Bear in mind that if it's a conversion from an office block, it may not be as well set up (floor layout, noise insulation etc) as a residential block built for the purpose.

Not all are bad of course but check out the build quality carefully - some office conversions have been done poorly by property owners wanting to turn a fast buck (and now being caught out by the market slowing down).

little0miss0mac

Thanks for that. True I spotted some plots have somewhat strange floor plans due to load bearing walls and I will keep that in mind in selecting plots!

New Malden has always been substantially cheaper than Kingston or surbiton, you haven't got the river for a start.

True. I reckon about 100k gap for 2 bed flat. Will keep that in mind. Thanks.