Reside Newsletter

Reside in the Suburbs, What we think and a 2022 Recap

Reside in the Suburbs

2022 was an exciting year for Reside; we put on our first Family Fun Day with partners Diane Modhal Sports Foundation, celebrated Broadside’s 2nd birthday, launched seven new developments and launched Reside in the Suburbs.

Reside has been approached by developers many times over the years to extend their portfolio to Greater Manchester; however, until 2022, Managing Director, Anthony, felt this would be too premature. “Reside is an independent estate agent, and that means there is tough competition. It only felt right to expand further afield once Reside was fully established in the city centre”. Now that Reside has successfully made its mark on Manchester, the expansion to the suburbs seems natural.

For the team, this growth was long-awaited, as many have personal connections to the suburbs and a keen interest in the areas where Reside now has schemes. Operations Director, Kate, bought her first home in Withington in 2006, where you will find the development Bank House, and Sales and Marketing Director, Rhiannon spent lots of her youth in Stockport, where the schemes The Castlewood and Cobden House are located. Kate highlights, “As the city centre expands, the suburbs feel more connected. The areas Reside has schemes in also have their own unique identity, so they’re really exciting to be part of and offer something different to our clients”.

Stockport

Over the past few years, the town has received increased media attention due to the growing number of independent businesses that have decided to make it their home.

Over the past few years, the town has received increased media attention due to the growing number of independent businesses that have decided to make it their home. And it’s easy to see why when you start to explore the town. Little Underbank is perhaps one of the more popular streets, with its cobbled road and quaint terraces, now abundant with independent shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. Plant Shop, Rare Mags and SK1 Records were some of the first businesses to revive the area and arguably paved the way for the new influx of ‘indies’.

More recently established is Where The Light Gets In, a ‘warm, airy open kitchen’ that serves seasonal dishes with produce sourced from carefully picked farmers and fishermen. Their conscientiousness and attention to detail have been well received, as the restaurant was awarded Restaurant of the Year by Manchester Food and Drink Festival. Due to their success, in the summer of 2022, they opened up an artisan bakery, Yellowhammer, just a few minutes walk from their original location.

Rare Finds Flea is another of Stockport’s new additions: a monthly flea market hosted by Rare Finds Home, consisting of multiple traders selling vintage clothes, homeware and furniture. These quirky new businesses make Stockport the perfect location for a younger demographic and have saved Stockport from being a dull and forgotten industrial town.

Check out our Stockport developments here The Castlewood / Cobden House (just a 5-minute walk from Little Underbank)

Altrincham

Another area that has its own growing identity is Altrincham.

Located in Greater Manchester’s leafy Southern suburbs and neighbouring the National Trust’s Dunham Massey park, based on just geography alone, Altrincham has lots of pull factors. Since the financial crisis in 2008, it has rebuilt itself from the bottom up to the charming town it is today, with a flurry of popular, independent businesses.

Altrincham Market was one of the first businesses to revamp the town and is arguably still the most well-known. Labelling itself an ‘independent foodie haven’, the venue consists of numerous kitchens and vendors, which currently include Honey Crust Sourdough Pizza, Pico’s Tacos, Great North Pie Co. and many more. The market still receives regular media attention, has a 4.5 star rating on Google with over 3,500 reviews and has over 68,000 followers on Instagram. Its success also led to the opening of Mackie Mayor, a similar multiple-vendor establishment on Great Ancoats Street in Manchester’s city centre. Altrincham is also home to Manchester’s renowned and award-winning Sugo Pasta Kitchen, which has since opened shops in Ancoats and Sale.

In the heart of all of this lies Reside’s newest suburban development, The Blok, within The Downs Quarter. The Blok will consist of 24 one and two-bedroom apartments over four stories. Created with modern lifestyles in mind, the bold ‘modern industrial’ design includes buff brick, statement metal and generous stretches of glass. The building provides an impressive secure lobby, a secure car park/bike store and views of the landscaped open space.

We will be launching this striking new development on the 17th and 18th of March. For more information and any enquiries, click here to send us an email.

What we think

Reside is very fortunate to have a variety of beautiful properties within its portfolio, and it’s not uncommon for members of the team to become particularly attached to these.

We spoke to Zvi, our Head of Residential, who is very fond of the Murrays’ Mills conversions in Ancoats.

“Murrays’ Mills was amongst the world’s earliest steam-powered cotton spinning factories, so it’s steeped in industrial history. It’s also next to the Rochdale Canal which offers a corridor into town but also out of town for a nice mooch. Situated in Ancoats, often referred to as one of the coolest neighbourhoods in the world, I see it as the perfect place to live.

My favourite feature of these properties is the bathrooms. Many include a bath (which is always a bonus in apartments), but more importantly, some of the quirky apartment layouts have allowed for huge bathroom windows! I always feel like bathrooms with big windows mean you start your day with plenty of natural light, which is a great feeling. The bathrooms also have white ceramic tiles that remind me of the Subway stations in New York City, a lovely extra touch. Another unique feature of the properties that I am fond of is the exposed brick walls in the bedrooms and living areas, acting as a reminder of the building’s industrial history.

Many of the apartments have views of Cotton Field Park and New Islington Marina. This lush urban oasis is perfect for early morning strolls and is home to one of my favourite neighbourhood hangouts, Flawd Wine. Flawd’s menu consists of varying and unique wines as well as small plates that champion local produce. It also acts as a bottle shop with a selection of wines to grab and go.

Speaking of the neighbourhood, Ancoats is full of independent restaurants and bars: a couple deserves a special mention. Elnecot does, in my opinion, the best Sunday roast in Manchester, the highlight being their massive Yorkshire puddings. Just Between Friends is a cosy coffee shop in another old industrial building filled with pastries from the nearby Companio bakery, some impressive-looking cactus plants and always a warm welcome and a smile from those who work there. Elnecot, Just Between Friends and Companio Bakery are less than a 2-minute walk from Murrays’ Mills.”

A recap on 2022

2022 was a rollercoaster of a year, as the UK experienced political fall-out alongside the long-term impacts of Covid and multiple lockdowns.

We asked Managing Director, Anthony, to give us his insights into how this impacted the property market.

“The first six months of 2022 saw the residential market showing solid signs of growth in both the sales and rental markets. As the summer season drew to a close, the residential market within Manchester’s city centre started to slow; however, this was not due to a slowdown in demand, but rather it was driven by a lack of supply. After having seen a relatively buoyant market for three quarters of the year, on September 23rd, the then Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng – under the leadership of Liz Truss – presented the now infamous ‘mini-budget’.

This mini-budget comprised a raft of economic policies and tax cuts that had not been budgeted and were to be funded by borrowing. Q4 of 2022 then saw a surge in withdrawals from purchases whilst the mortgage market was in turmoil. As the year drew to a close, the mortgage market started to stabilise again, and there was a return in demand for residential sales. However, the rental market – which had remained buoyant throughout the fallout from the mini-budget – was still hindered by the lack of new supply coming through into the market.

Looking forward to 2023, sentiment seems strong in both the sales and rental markets. Pricing has levelled in the sales market, following the turmoil of Q4, and we expect to see small steady growth in values during 2023. We also expect to see stronger growth in the rental market in Manchester: primarily driven by the city’s ever-growing job market and employment growth, married with a shortfall in supply driving pricing to match demand.”