
Connecting new build developers with investors
When new build developers work with Castlereach, they’re using a robust network that reaches out to property investors at home and abroad. Many of these investors have worked with us for several years. They understand that the off-market and off-plan properties that we select and promote are chosen because of strong property fundamentals.
Our due diligence process is trusted and recognised for locating the best places to invest in UK property. We provide research, investment guides, and connect investors to a sales progression process, which removes common stumbling blocks that deter investment in off-plan property. We’ve found this to be especially relevant as a marketing tool for foreign investors, an increasingly important sector of the market for new build developers.
So what is the Castlereach advantage that will help sell your development off-market and increase your ROI?
In this article, I’ll outline five reasons why Castlereach delivers sparkling sales numbers to the new build developers with whom we work.
1. Staff that are fully trained and continuously trained
Our property consultants are not only experienced in the property market; we also ensure they’re trained in specific sales skills that are needed to boost off-market property sales. New build developers need far more than the standard estate agent to achieve the highest premiums and best sales numbers for off-plan sales.
From the off, and throughout their time with Castlereach, property consultants are trained and updated on the skills and techniques that have been identified as key attributes in the sales and marketing process. These include the following critical capabilities:
· Be good at listening
The art of good communication is the ability to listen. Our property consultants learn to listen to our clients, learning their investment objectives by the use of effective questioning techniques. By understanding the needs of our investor clients, we can promote your off-plan property to targeted individuals who have a greater motivation for buying. There’s no scattergun approach and no blanket marketing. It helps to preserve the integrity of your development while increasing sales potential.
· Know how to sell off-plan and off-market
It does not simply understanding the needs of the investor that informs selling success. Property consultants also have to be well versed in how to sell your product. The emphasis here is on creating a buzz within each investor. Our property consultants are trained to sell the investment potential, confirming its capacity to attract home buyers and/or tenants dependent upon investment goals.
· Negotiating skills
Our property consultants are highly effective negotiators. They understand the investor, the product, and the market. That puts them in the ideal position to negotiate the best deal between developer and investor.
2. Market knowledge
There’s no substitute for market knowledge when promoting off-market property investment opportunities. Individual investors don’t have the time or energy to research every property, nor keep on top of rapidly-moving markets.
We have the manpower, systems and resources to do all the legwork and crunch the reams of information required to make informed investment decisions. It means the investor can concentrate on their strategy, knowing that they have a partner working with them to identify opportunities that are in line with their property investment objectives.
Our unique position as the sales conduit of the developer, with the a highly focussed market knowledge that is indispensable to the investor, makes us the ideal partner for new build developers and investors alike.
3. Building effective and lasting partnerships
Sales is a relationship business. We remain in constant contact with both developers and investors. The way we maintain these relationships is key to our success and your sales. Developers can be confident that we know which investors have their buying hats on at all times. Investors can be sure that we know of the new build property developments that match their needs, and that we’re perfectly placed to meet their investment plans when an opportunity arises.
4. Up to date and innovative
As the world moves at an ever-faster pace, methods of communication and marketing are evolving. Investors want to be kept up to date with markets and opportunities, and they want to be communicated with in their favoured method. That might be by email, newsletters, blogs, social media, and so on.
This connectivity and contact help us to be seen as the educator and investment partner. We stay in the forefront of the investor’s thinking, and that is highly beneficial for the new build developers with whom we work. This constant contact creates the foundation for an incredible marketing framework. It’s also one of the keys to how we grow our database of investor clients – by referral from satisfied investors who return to us time and again.
We also use more traditional methods of connecting with potential investors, such as property investment seminars. Educational seminars allow us to present the latest research, local market knowledge, and network with new and experienced property investors. Our clients know that we have a consistent flow of exclusive deals and that we might provide indications of these at our seminars – so our seminars become an ideal opportunity to showcase property developers and their off-plan properties, too.
5. An international reach
International investors make up a large proportion of today’s buyers of UK property for investment purposes. Prime central London property is especially appealing for The Middle East and Chinese buyers, with the safe haven appeal of the UK and London underpinning demand (even after Brexit). In fact, interest from foreign property investors post-Brexit has increased further, as the fall in the value of sterling has made UK property even cheaper in foreign currency terms.
We have an especially strong presence with investors from China and Singapore, and the Middle East. A recent report in The Guardian suggests that Chinese investment in foreign property could be as much as £200 billion over the next ten years, and the UK will likely see a large slice of that. Charles Pittar, CEO of Juwai, told The Guardian, “The UK market, particularly post-Brexit, is picking up (for Chinese investors.”
Partnering with Castlereach offers exceptional access to a large and rapidly-growing database of foreign investors keen to purchase UK property.
How to connect with Castlereach and our investors
Some sources have estimated that foreign property investors buy as much as 75% of all London off-plan property made available by new build developers. We’ll help you connect with them. To connect with us and get the ball rolling, call my team direct on +44 207 924 5680.
Keep in touch,
Martin Sadler