The first couple of weeks of February have been the most exciting yet for us at HomeViews HQ. We’ve now officially launched and we’re so pleased with the amazing response from the press.
Here’s a snapshot of some of the write-ups…
“A new website, billing itself as the “TripAdvisor for property”, has launched, allowing owners and renters of new-build flats in London to rate them online.
These reviews can then be read by prospective buyers and tenants before they commit to a property.
Operating in Beta mode since last summer, HomeViews has generated just over 2,000 verified reviews by landlords, owner-occupiers, and tenants across 534 residential developments in London.
It hopes to replicate travel review website TripAdvisor’s model of impartial, warts-and-all, user-generated feedback on businesses and services for the housing market.”
“A new website promises to revolutionise the residential development industry in the same way TripAdvisor has revolutionised hospitality, by allowing residents to post “trustworthy, comparable reviews” of schemes that “go beyond the developer marketing brochures.
HomeViews, which says it is London’s first independent review site for residential developments, has been available in beta mode since the middle of last year but will officially launch this week.
Residents have already left thousands of reviews and a host of build-to-rent developers and housebuilders have signed up with the platform, including Ballymore, Quintain and Fizzy Living.”
“One area where an online reviewing culture is conspicuous by its absence is the new homes and development sector. But the rise of buy to rent (BTR) in the UK is disrupting this. When entire blocks are built solely to rent out and it is the freeholder through a management company that is the landlord then the dynamic changes.
And particularly so given the huge growth of the sector, which is building approximately 80,000 units a year in the UK and expanding by 30% per annum, the most recent British Property Federation figures show.
This is the opportunity that HomeViews.com is hoping to exploit. Set up two years ago by a marketing professional and an events industry entrepreneur, it covers 500 developments in London and its users have so far written 2,000 reviews.
No other reviews site has tackled new homes yet so at least for the time being, the service has time to develop.”
Read the full article by Nigel Lewis here
“The site has been tested for some months and has a number of reviews already, chiefly of open sale and Built To Rent units.
It has been given a ringing endorsement by the HomeOwners Alliance, which has often been critical of estate and letting agents, as well as the quality of new-build homes.”
Estate Agent Today included a quote from Paula Higgins, HOA Chief Executive…
“We’re big supporters of what HomeViews is doing to improve transparency and to help people have as much information as possible about the homes they are looking at buying. By collating residents reviews of a development and a developer, everyone can now get real feedback on new build developments, beyond the glossy marketing brochure. We’re excited to see HomeViews grow.”
“A new website has launched with ambitions to become “the TripAdvisor for property”.
HomeViews offers a platform for tenants and property owners to write and read independent reviews of new-build developments in London, creating what bumf calls “a new and powerful research and marketing tool” in the residential property sector.
The site has been in Beta mode since the middle of last year, capturing real residents’ reviews of new-build schemes across the capital, as well as real-world insights from industry professionals; it has now officially launched its full-fat version.
It has been given a ringing endorsement by the HomeOwners Alliance, which has often been critical of estate and letting agents, as well as the quality of new-build homes.”
Click here to read the full article
“HomeViews has already generated thousands of reviews across both the “Build to Rent” sector as well as many large, premium, high-profile residential developments ‘built for sale’ in London. Simon Pratt, Managing Director, Ballymore Asset Management, said, “The transparency of the HomeViews site will encourage developers to be thinking one step ahead; we look forward to seeing how the property industry responds and the impact HomeViews will have.”
Fizzy Living, the market leading Build to Rent operator, has been amongst the first to embrace this transparency, and invite all its tenants to write a review on HomeViews. “Harry Downes, Managing Director of Fizzy Living, said, “Developers are accountable for keeping an open dialogue with their residents to ensure a best in class experience. We encourage all other developers to do the same to ensure London’s new build housing opportunities are the best they can be.”
Read the full article on showhouse.co.uk
Now that the word’s out, we’re even more committed to fulfilling our mission – to support those looking for their next home with honest, trustworthy insights in an industry first. Join the community – leave a review or search for a development and read up ahead of your next move.
