City apartments still selling in the right spot.

Latest reports in Property Week indicate that city centre apartments are still selling in Liverpool. Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster’s property company, has sold more than £25m of the apartments at its One Park West residential scheme in Liverpool.

The company has stated that since its official launch in December 2008, they have sold 123 units, with a further 21 apartments due to have completed before Christmas.

Grosvenor have been careful to prevent the development becoming a buy-to-let investors ghetto. They have said that almost all sales had been for individual units and no larger than four units per investor, with the split between investors and owner occupiers standing at a ratio of 70:30.

Grovsenor has also 'decided' to let 120 apartments for what it thinks is some of the highest residential rents achieved in the City with studios renting for £525 pcm and 2 bedroom apartments achieving up to £900 pcm.

Commenting on the scheme Guy Butler project director stated:

“Demand and new sales had struggled during the first quarter of 2009,”

“However, in June we witnessed a demonstrable change in the market, with an upturn in sales, which has resulted in an average of close to two sales reserved per week for the last six months.
“Demand for lettings has been phenomenal, achieving some of the highest rents in the city.
“It is a time-honoured truth that the right product in the right location will always sell, even in a brow-beaten economy and in 2009 One Park West has proved that theory true.”

It looks like there may be some life in the city centre apartment investment market after all. However, what this example reinforces is that their has been a flight to quality. If you are going to invest, make sure that as a landlord you invest in the best and avoid the rabbit hutch developments that have sprung up around the periphery.

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