GUEST ARTICLE: High-end kitchen and bathroom design to make the difference

In this guest article, Lisa Ward, senior product manager at Bristan, discusses how high-end kitchen and bathroom design can make the difference in helping housebuilders stand out against competitors when faced with competition.

============================

Last year, the government hit its target of building 200,000 homes each year in England, putting it on track to fulfil the promise it made two years ago to build one million homes by 2020.

With less than a quarter of these privately-owned homes classed as affordable, it’s clear that the luxury sector is still booming and housebuilders face competition to stand out from the crowd.

============================

The small details are often the ones which buyers single out for praise during and after a viewing. Water delivery products such as taps are features that they can physically interact with in a show home, so attractive and high-quality fixtures and fittings are crucial.

On busy housing developments, it is not uncommon for the selection and fitting of these product groups to fall down the priority list due to time pressures. Whilst this may make sense from a time perspective, it does mean that vital product choices are often left in the hands of the third-party contractor.

As the subcontractor is joining the project at a later stage, they may have less of a feel for the style of the rest of the house, and instead of assessing which products will most fit the development’s aesthetic, may simply select the price competitive option.

It’s only natural that if the buyer suspects low cost products have been installed in the kitchen and bathroom, they may deem the development in general as lower quality and best avoided.

Furthermore, the danger is that if the fittings chosen have not been rigorously tested by the manufacturer, there is every risk of malfunction, potentially even before new homeowners have moved in, causing serious issues.

Another major trend across a wide range of sectors is personalisation, with the modern consumer increasingly looking to tailor products to meet their individual needs.

In the case of housing developments, having a choice of fixtures and fittings has always been important to sales. But by specifying water delivery products earlier on, the customisation strategy can be fully thought through and appropriate models selected.

With the drive to build new homes, developers can expect more competition over the next few years. But as buyers become savvier, there is an opportunity to make water delivery products a crucial point of differentiation that can help their homes stand out.

Although water delivery products may not be the first port of call for specifiers, it’s important not to underestimate the impact taps and showers can have on the quality and attractiveness of a development.