A one-on-one interview by What House magazine with Terry Holmes

13th October 2016

Interview taken from What House.

"This week exclusive interview is with Terry Holmes, who since becoming Beresfords' first full-time employee in 1981 has been at the forefront of the company's progress as an estate agency with a strong department devoted to the new homes sector. Out of hours Terry enjoys sailing on the South Coast, attending concerts, and is a devoted family man who loves spending time with his two grandchildren."

Beresfords has established itself as an estate agency with a strong and professional base within Essex, Greater London and the surrounding areas. Their reputation as property advisers, with a highly regarded family brand, spans nearly 50 years. Today, Beresfords offers a range of property services, including residential sales and lettings, land and new homes, country and village homes, financial services, commercial property and surveying.

Beresfords has recently expanded its land and new homes team following record sales. In the past 12 months, Beresfords has agreed sales on over £ 95 m worth of new homes. The growth in sales has been driven by increasing demand for property in the area and a lack of housing stock. Beresfords has expanded the team to enhance its dedicated bespoke services to search out development opportunities and market the sale of new homes.

The company has helped tens of thousands of satisfied customers over the years and is multiple winners of leading industry awards, including being named Best Estate Agency in Essex three years running.

We have a variety of new developments on our books at the moment. At one end of the market we have one-bedroom apartments to exclusive luxurious new build homes at Woodlands in Edney Common and Langford Park in Langford near Maldon plus a magnificent development by CALA Homes at Trueloves Lane in Ingatestone. Here in Essex property prices vary from a one-bedroom apartment for £195,000 to a property at Trueloves topping the £2m marker.

At the moment, we're looking at new areas as well as our core areas, but we are noticing a large increase in builders and developers requesting site appraisals; it's definitely a very busy time.

Yes we are, and an increasing number of developers who we've worked with in the past are coming back to us. It's a ripple effect, the more developments we market the more people come to us as we are recognised as a major player in the marketplace.

We've got a couple of star developments at the moment, at different ends of the market. Woodlands in Edney Common near Chelmsford is an exclusive luxury development consisting of 15 high-specification family homes offering a choice of four-, five- and six-bedrooms. The site has proved very popular, in fact there is only one property now that doesn't have someone wanting to buy. In particular it has appealed to people looking to move to a new build with a country feel. This development won us Best East of England Development Marketing at the 2016 International Property Awards.

We've also been marketing 77, a new development in central Chelmsford; it's an exclusive collection of one- and two-bedroom apartments and maisonettes. They've proven very popular thanks to their proximity to the city centre, walking distance to the train station and are close to the new Bond Street shopping centre including John Lewis which has just opened.

Online agencies have made little impact on the new-build marketplace around here. Our developers look to us as specialists in our field in our geographic area. They work with us because they know we know the area inside out, and that's not something you can pick up from the web.

Developers will want inside knowledge on what mix of housing is required in an area, what house prices are doing, and what buyers are looking for. You only get that insight from working with clients on a day-to-day basis, and that's something an online agent cannot offer.

Naturally, developers come back to us to market their completed projects once we've secured the land deals, but we can also offer a High Street outlet for their developments. We're also flexible enough to accommodate them in our local office before they arrive onsite.

Help to Buy has proven very popular, and we've actively encouraged developers who haven't yet adopted the scheme to start offering it to customers.

We have a lot of people looking to downsize at the moment. Pensions aren't offering people what they hoped for, so many of our customers are downsizing from more expensive properties, including country homes, to free up funds and purchase a lower-priced new build that offers low maintenance and cheaper energy bills.

One of our developments, Danbury Palace, an exclusive gated development of unique stylish apartments in the original house together with mews and new houses set in the stunning grounds, has proven very popular with downsizers as it has retained its historic charm and offers the ultimate luxurious lifestyle where someone else will cut the communal grass and keep the place pristine. There's even a dedicated concierge on hand to help, and can organise the hire of the Estate's tennis courts for you to enjoy a set or two with friends and family. Plus, the development has its own video entry phone and vehicle recognition system ensuring the Danbury Palace Estate remains as private and secure as it can be.

I also think there's been a shift in lifestyles. Where people used to hang onto their property, now they're more interested in living their lives to the full and freeing up some of their assets to pay to travel or enjoy far-flung holidays.

For further information on Beresfords Land & New Homes Division click here. You can find a complete list of new homes developments that we are currently marketing here.

In a nutshell, no! Unfortunately, we haven't been building enough homes to meet demand since the 1970s. Successive governments have tinkered with policies to try to alleviate the situation, but I think planning policy, costs, and a shortage of land simply exacerbate the problem.