PROPERT Y SPECI AL
IMAGES Emerson Park, located in Great Abington, is close to the city, but has the style and the flair of the countryside
allowing customers to choose the sorts of interior spaces that would suit them. The online house configurator enables a buyer to decide on a layout that works best for their lifestyle, so that the home adapts to the occupant, not the other way around. “Living almost permanently inside has led to many of us feeling very contained,” Toby elaborates. “Some people have felt a lack of certain spaces, like gardens, and this is particularly noticeable if a person lives, works and plays in a single space or environment. Access to outdoor space, rooms that can work as offices and flexible living spaces are increasingly important and I see this trend continuing.” Perhaps counter-intuitively, the year 2020 also left many buyers looking for an increased focus on sustainability. For many, having to spend a great portion of the year indoors highlighted the ways in which their homes weren’t working for them – or for the environment. As such, eco-friendly homes are becoming increasingly sought after, for their penny-saving characteristics and their conscientious design. Award-winning housebuilder Croudace is known for building high- spec homes to an exceptional standard and has received the House Builder
already set up to handle non-contact viewings, which became very important during lockdown. Our homes are built off-site in the House factory, so we already have a different customer experience in place, where we can demonstrate what the homes and buying choices are online through immersive VR technology – often in the absence of a show home.” House by Urban Splash’s high-tech approach proved to be well-suited to the circumstances, but that’s not to say that there have not been any significant changes to how its services are provided. “The main change, like most industries experienced, was moving our processes online. Many housebuilders have had to pivot towards a stronger online offering in terms of viewings,” explains Toby. “We used the opportunity to improve this further, with the addition of the ‘house configurator’ on our website. This has been a great tool to demonstrate the range of flexibility inside the properties. It works much like a new car or kitchen configurator, so you can have hours of fun designing your home online.” This shift in priorities has made House by Urban Splash’s Town House particularly attractive for buyers, as they offer the ultimate flexibility and choice,
Federation’s (HBF) 5 Star Award for Quality and Customer Service eight years running. “Croudace’s homes are expertly designed to minimise their impact on the environment,” says Andrew Frith, marketing manager at Croudace. “Landscaping is also carefully chosen for each development that encourages wildlife, with mature planting, including locally native shrubs, bushes and trees functioning as borders and providing privacy for residents.” Croudace’s Croft End development, for example, offers a stunning selection of two- to five-bedroom homes on the edge of the beautiful village of Orwell. Surrounded by lush Cambridgeshire countryside, Orwell is just a few miles south of Cambridge, making Croft End ideally situated for commuters. Also due to launch this year is The Pastures in the charming village of Linton, just eight miles south-east of Cambridge, which is set to provide the same relaxed country- living feel while still offering easy access to the city. So, it could be said that the year 2020 had its silver linings for residential developers in the area. But what is the housing market set to look like this year?
“The main change was moving our processes online”
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