The storms and floods in the early part of the year don’t seem to have curbed either residential or commercial property demand in the Exeter and local area.

With many new developments already underway and many more set to come, as eager developers snap-up new opportunities as soon as they arise – the recent “mini-boom” in the local property market looks set to continue for some months yet.

Stocks of re-sale residential property remain in short supply, as investor buyers compete with first time buyers and first-time movers for he limited number of properties available to buy – and many fresh properties to market being snapped-up and even some properties that have been on the market for longer that the sellers might have hoped for (or their agents might care to admit!) now looking to be very good value.

Looking around the city centre, the redevelopment of two former office blocks – which will see both ‘Portland House’ behind John Lewis and the former ‘Trinity House’ in Southernhay built further up into the sky- to take full advantage of their locations but limited “footprints” – are both now underway. The former providing more quality student accommodation and the latter set to compete with neighbouring Dean Clarke House for the top-end luxury apartment market. Impending sales of around 20,000 square feet of part of the City Library and a similar-size existing buildings near St Georges Market, may well see more of both, as the changing face of Exeter attracts even more life and energy to the city centre.

As you look just a little further out, the redevelopment of former Plymouth College of Art and the Deaf school off the Topsham Road will soon begin and with the fast-progressing exclusive Millbrook Retirement Village with it soon to be built “Hotel-Style” facilities and nearby “City Glade” mix of quality new homes, along with the rapidly growing developments elsewhere around the city – one might wonder “Who will buy all of these new homes?” – especially with a new town being built only just a few miles away at Cranbrook?

Well, from the number of fresh enquiries we get every day from down-sizers, re-locators, investors, growing families, second-homers and people looking to get on the property ladder for the first time ( or back-on, to start again) – it really does seem that these new developments can’t come quickly enough!

Roger Wilkinson