Digital Marketing // August 4, 2016
Effects of Brand Awareness Towards Location Preference in London's Property Market
Brand building and awareness in real estate developments are important in establishing credibility. Buyers tend to identify with a certain lifestyle associated with particular brands. Properties that are linked to well-known architects or developers tend to be a third more valuable than similar properties within the vicinity.
There are several hotspots in London that are projected to perform highly in the property market. Capital values indicate that some of these are not the typical “prime” areas but projections suggest that these locations will outperform the market in price comparisons between current day values and the forecast for the end of 2018.
While strong brand awareness reflects innovation in the property market which builds interest and trust, other factors such as projected transport infrastructure, spread of gentrification, refurbishments and redevelopments contribute to the high-market performance predictions in London.
Astute developers waste no time in grabbing market opportunities. S P Setia, Malaysia’s biggest publicly traded property developer by sales took great advantage of the future value of Battersea Power Station, located in Nine Elms with a regeneration scheme encompassing over 3,500 new homes, shops, cafes, restaurant and offices. This was accompanied by branding efforts that created a new perspective on the area.
FOREFRONT International developed an online price-chart system that tracks unit availability to eliminate double bookings, bundled with an iPad sales kit designed to enable sales personnel to have access to all required information. This results in a more efficient sales process and pleasant user experience.
Similar to Battersea Power Station, regeneration of places like Victoria and an improvement in amenities in areas such as Bayswater have resulted in them becoming more appealing. Demand continues to increase in locations undergoing regeneration as they attract young professionals.
Young professionals desire convenience and a quality social life due to busy schedules as well as the need to improve their standard of living. For many Londoners proximity to transport links is a major contributor when determining where to live. Investors tend to gravitate towards locations of greater value with high interest levels. Some of these hotspots include Acton, Earls Court and Nine Elms where the introduction of the Crossrail will dramatically decrease travel time.
Changes in transport infrastructure connect different parts of a city and attract investment; thus creating additional demand for housing which brings new energy to markets in and around transport hubs.
There are a number of available lands in the eastern boroughs that are attracting volume. This is resulting in a grand desire in the market to capitalise on the volume as well as waterside living which is evident from the significant increase in taller developments in the area.
East London has over 50 new buildings in the pipeline with more awaiting approval – making up a third of the London total. With a focus on the creation of new lifestyle based communities, new East London schemes tend to appeal to the wider mainstream market.
Brexit stands a chance of threatening the London property market with EU citizens making up around 15% of the prime central London market however, local and foreign markets are quite different. Brexit will likely have little to no impact on the domestic market.
London has sizeable foreign property investors. It is necessary to broaden brand awareness to a wider overseas market. FOREFRONT International’s property solution in marketing Battersea Power Station locally and to major global property markets such as Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong widened sales prospects outside Europe.
Exploring market opportunities on a micro-geographical level and evaluating schemes against local characteristics is quite insightful. Growth market factors lead to buyers and investors assessing their wide array of residential options.
Marketable developments need to have reliability, imaginative designs, attractive amenities in inviting locations and honesty in dealings. A credible brand has to have positive feedback from existing customers and a good market reputation known for great value.
As a creative agency, FOREFRONT International believes in positioning property brands effectively by creating a distinct identity and communicating it to the target audience. The creative agency provides digital, advertising and CGI services that tackle the challenges developers face; as well as calibration of their brand personality.
Through a variety of solutions ranging from graphic design, 3D visualisation, motion and animation designs to customised information-system solutions, FOREFRONT International brings a fresh approach to branding and advertising.
