What’s in store for 2024
Grayham Tucker, Group Managing Director of Cavanna Homes
The New Year means a new start for many – and moving house or buying a first home will be on the agenda for some during 2024.
We hope that homebuyers looking to make that all important move in Devon and Cornwall will choose a Cavanna home. We have availability at our developments in several locations across the region, including Exeter, Hemyock, Bude and Holsworthy.
We are also aiming to start building at a number of new sites this year, bringing forward a range of house-types for buyers across the South West. We know the homes market has been affected by cost-of-living challenges, but with mortgage rates stabilising there are hopes some of the pressures will be easing as we move through 2024.
We’re committed to this region, where we have been creating quality homes as a family business for over a century. We are looking forward to starting work in the spring creating beautiful places to live on two sites in North Devon – at North Molton and Bickington – and one at Wembdon, near Bridgwater, in Somerset.
We are creating 39 energy-efficient homes in North Molton, reflecting our drive to build sustainably. The development, off Fore Street, will range from one-to- four-bedroom properties and 11 will be affordable, for shared ownership or social rent. In Bickington, 77 homes are planned, 23 of them marked as affordable for local people.
At Cockerhurst Farm, Wembdon, near Bridgwater, 238 open market and affordable homes have been given the go-ahead and a further 437 homes on the same site have outline planning consent. We’ll be starting work here in partnership with Martin Grant Homes.
As housebuilders we are acutely aware of changing trends in the marketplace and of always striving to create properties that meet homebuyers’ aspirations. A recent survey on moving trends carried out by Property Academy, with results analysed by Dataloft, questioned 20,000 people on their property priorities.
It found two ‘must haves’ – a garden, cited by 78% of respondents, and parking, put down as essential by 64%. At Cavanna Homes we provide a turfed garden as standard while the majority of our open market homes have garages and/or driveway parking too.
This year will be an election year, both locally, with council elections in Exeter and Plymouth, and nationally too, with a General Election expected.
Whoever wins I would like to see policies that promote and support energy-efficient and sustainable construction practices, with incentives for developers to build eco-friendly housing. I also believe we need policies that prioritise the availability of affordable housing.
Cavanna Homes has an exciting year ahead with homes for those starting out, moving with a growing family, or downsizing in later life.
At Cavanna Homes we know buying a home is still the biggest financial commitment most of us will make and, we believe, the best investment. That won’t change, whatever 2024 throws at us.
Header image: LHC Design
