In this episode, I sit down with Tim Bishop, Sales and Marketing Director at Morrish Homes, to explore the company’s evolution from a traditional family-run building firm to a thriving regional housebuilder.

Tim shares his career journey, from estate agency to housebuilding, and the strategic partnerships that have shaped Morrish Homes’ success.

Throughout our conversation, Tim discusses the shift from estate agency-led sales to an in-house sales and marketing operation, highlighting the benefits of brand control, cost efficiency, and stronger customer engagement. He also shares insights into navigating the competitive land market, the importance of pricing strategy, and the role of partnerships in delivering large-scale developments.

Sustainability and digital innovation are key themes. Tim explains how Morrish Homes embraces a pragmatic pricing approach, ensuring homes are positioned competitively without over-reliance on incentives. We also discuss how digital tools and marketing innovations are transforming customer engagement in the new homes sector.

Here are just some of the topics covered:

- The transition from a family-run builder to a regional housebuilder

- How strategic partnerships, including with the Duchy, have shaped growth

- The impact of in-house sales and marketing on business performance

- Pricing strategies and how they differ from industry norms

- The importance of digital marketing and customer engagement

Tim offers valuable insights into the ever-changing property landscape, providing a fascinating look at how Morrish Homes is positioning itself for the future while staying true to its heritage. A must-listen for anyone interested in the sales and marketing of new homes!

Another engaging episode not to be missed!

In this episode, I sit down with Julian Rooney, Chief Sales Officer and Co-Founder of Thakeham, to explore the world of strategic land promotion and property development.

With over 20 years of experience, Julian shares his journey from estate agency to building a company with a land bank of over 45,000 units.

Julian provides insights into Thakeham’s impressive growth, the milestones that have defined their journey, and the evolving challenges of the strategic land market.

We discuss the importance of maintaining quality while scaling up and the innovations that have helped Thakeham achieve success, including their adoption of 3D design and sustainability initiatives.

Sustainability features prominently in the conversation. Julian highlights Thakeham's commitment to zero-carbon homes and their groundbreaking partnership with Octopus Energy.

Here are just some of the topics covered:

- The importance of strategic land promotion and its long-term value

- How Thakeham balances scalability with quality and design

- The role of sustainability and innovation in property development

- The customer demand for zero-carbon and zero-bill homes

- Lessons learned in property sales and advice for aspiring developers

Throughout the episode, Julian emphasises the value of hard work, innovation, and putting people first in the property industry. A fascinating discussion for anyone interested in property development and the future of housing.

Another must-listen episode!

In this latest episode, I speak with Cheryl Gibbens, Digital Marketing Manager at Aster Group about the ever evolving world of digital marketing. Cheryl well and truly has her finger on the digital marketing pulse, keeping up to date with the latest trends and digital channels to aid with sales and build awareness for Aster online.  

In this episode, Cheryl and I discuss the subtle differences between digital marketing and traditional marketing, noting how each available channel requires its own consideration when building an effective digital marketing strategy to achieve the desired results.

We dip into the latest trends and the emergence of platforms such as TikTok with the ability to reach and educate target audiences, developments in AI, hesitations surrounding chatbots and even touch on IP tracking (“What’s that?” I hear you asking!).

Throughout the episode Cheryl emphasises the importance of customer service and that in our strive to keep up with digital progression we don’t leave any audience behind.

Here are just some of the topics covered:

- How to select the most appropriate tools, channels and portals to have the optimal impact on sales and enquiries

- What up and coming digital tools are right, and perhaps wrong, for the future of the industry

- How the role of a Digital Marketing Manager differs from that of a Marketing Manager

- Who decides which social media trends are right for the business, and when to let the ‘hype’ remain just that

And much more!

Another great episode, not to be missed!

Building the future

I’m Jasmine, the lead designer at Antler, and I was Antler’s first employee back in 2017.

In the latest episode of the Antler New Homes Podcast we flip things on their head and I put Antler founder, Simon Jenns, in the hot seat. Simon opens up, sharing his journey into the property industry and the experiences that led him to founding Antler, the leading marketing and PR agency for SME housebuilders.

With a family background in property, Simon joined Bargate Homes in their early days, where he focused on growing the brand and formulating marketing strategies to successfully sell many developments off-plan. As Bargate grew to become a leading regional housebuilder and frustrated by the agency support available to him, Simon took the bold decision to leave Bargate and start Antler, with the aim to service solely small and medium-sized housebuilders.

Simon reflects on his journey, acknowledging successes and learning from mistakes, while also expressing excitement about future innovations in the property market.

Simon shares the evolution of marketing in the digital age, particularly focusing on attracting the attention of buyers and marketing strategies to sell properties off-plan. 

Simon also shares:

• What industries could the property sector learn the most from?
• Where housebuilders are missing their greatest opportunities
• How to create supply and demand tension to achieve off-plan sales success
• How to create demand for new homes through exclusivity
• The future of the property industry in a digital era

And much more!

A great episode, not to be missed!

In the latest episode, Simon speaks with Paul Vincent, New Homes Director of Fox & Sons South Division about the role of estate agents in today’s market.

Over the last 20 years Paul has climbed the ranks at Fox & Sons, gaining a vast amount of estate agency and property experience.

In this episode, Simon and Paul discuss the misconception that properties will sell themselves once listed online, highlighting the importance of personal interactions and expertise in guiding potential buyers. 

They delve into changes in the industry over the past 20 years, including the shift towards digital platforms, the portals, adopting emerging technologies like AI and the necessity for effective communication and customer service. 

Throughout the conversation, Paul emphasises the enduring significance of personal relationships, expertise, and adaptability in the new homes sector.

Some of the topics covered:

• Why housebuilders should consider using estate agents alongside their marketing
• What makes a good estate agent, and how should housebuilders choose who to list with
• The difference between estate agency groups like Fox & Sons and self employed agents
• How housebuilders could be making better use of estate agents
• What emerging technologies should estate agents and housebuilders adopt?

And much more!
Another great episode, not to be missed!

We’re back, with season 2! Simon is speaking with Henry Adams Partners, Martin Curry, and Peter Cleveland, who dive into the intricate world of planning, where marketing and branding should play pivotal roles.

Amidst the challenges of planning, there’s a significant demographic already settled in their homes, resistant to change. Yet, there’s also a keen market waiting to be tapped into. The catch? Housebuilders must master the art of brand positioning from the get-go, or risk losing valuable opportunities.

Join us as we explore the power of strategic branding at the planning stage to captivate local communities and the importance of crafting a narrative that resonates with the community to elevate the entire house buying experience. 

Topics covered:

- How the planning process could benefit by bringing marketing teams on the planning journey

- How can community engagement be improved?

- What opportunities there are to help foster relationships with the community?

- How housebuilders should be visualising and marketing the planning vision

A great episode, not to be missed!

In this episode, Simon is joined by Joe Dorrington, MD of Imperial Homes, as well as Marketing & Sales Manager, Mel Finlay.

In this heartfelt conversation, Joe opens up about his journey from being a homeless drug addict at the young age of 13, to heading up one of the South Coast’s leading property development companies.

Beginning his construction career in 1999, Joe’s unrelenting dedication to sobriety and his pursuit of financial freedom helped him establish himself as a highly regarded name in the industry, co-founding Imperial Homes 10 years ago. 

Joe’s story is an inspirational one, and Mel’s praise of the business and passion for her work is testament to how difficult experiences can help build and positively shape a company's culture and values. 

An excerpt from Joe’s story: “I couldn't really find any way out. It was a very difficult period. I remember I was sleeping in doorways and a few things that pop up when I think about it was how cold a floor is when you sleep on it, it could be warm on the top, but just so cold underneath.”

An inspiring episode, not to be missed!

We would love to get your feedback on the topics covered on this podcast - please email [email protected] to let us know what you think, and subscribe to this podcast if you enjoyed today's episode.

In this episode of the Antler New Homes Podcast, Simon is joined by Adam O’Brien, MD of Metis Homes to talk about the future of housebuilding and how marketing plays a pivotal role in getting houses sold as quickly as possible, whatever the economic environment. 
Established in 2008 and known for their honest approach, Metis Homes is an experienced regional housebuilder, building a reputable name for themselves across the South. 

Topics covered include:

• Staying ahead of the curve as the market changes
• Gearing a business plan around off-plan selling to enable future land acquisition
• How the role of sales and marketing has changed over the years
• Partnering with the right marketing agency to support business
• The opportunity for brand planning to help support and ease the planning process
• How AI may change the housebuilding process

And much more!
Adam says “My approach to housebuilding is about getting things done as quickly as reasonably possible. I think that's just good practice across the board. And equally, marketing should be geared towards getting houses sold as quickly as possible. As we grow, that positive cash flow becomes even more important because you have many more costs, because you're building more and therefore finance cost becomes more of a factor. And I think today that's even more important because costs are just so much greater across the board. Money costs a lot more money at the moment, given interest rates. We've also got the problem at the moment where I think ever since COVID, for some inexplicable, infuriating reason, everything takes so much longer as well.”

Another great episode - enjoy!

We would love to get your feedback on the topics covered on this podcast - please email [email protected] to let us know what you think, and subscribe to this podcast if you enjoyed today's episode.

In the first episode of the Antler New Homes Podcast, we were joined by one of the country’s most respected housing market commentators, Lucian Cook, Head of Residential Research at Savills. Six months on, following a huge amount of change in the market, Lucian is back. This time to reveal what decisions housebuilders should be making, and the opportunities that lie ahead over the next few months and beyond. 

If you’re wondering what might be looming, this is the episode for you!

Other topics include:

• The impact of interest rates on the new homes market
• How much further will house prices fall?
• House price forecast over the next 12 months
• What does the future look like?
• What role should the government be doing to help support housebuilders?

Another great episode - enjoy!

“It's slightly ironic that we sit here six months later and we're facing some of the same challenges again about less accessibility to mortgage finance, higher costs of mortgage finance, concerns about where interest rates will go and how much further they will go. And clearly, that has a big implication for what happens to house prices and what happens to transactions.”

We would love to get your feedback on the topics covered on this podcast - please email [email protected] to let us know what you think, and subscribe to this podcast if you enjoyed today's episode.

In this Q&A edition, host Simon Jenns interviews Head of New Homes and Central Sales, John Doyle about the portal industry and why housebuilders should consider using OnTheMarket.

With over 15 years of experience in the portal market working with a wide range of clients from large national housebuilders, Build to Rent developers and SME housebuilders, John has successfully helped to build the OnTheMarket New Homes division since joining in 2018.

“We want to give developers more choice. And in my view, it's not healthy in any marketplace to have one or two dominant players. The more competition that there can be, the more choice and options developers have. It helps them in terms of all of their marketing choices. 

Whenever I speak to housebuilders, I always make the point that if you're a developer and you have a particular development and there's very little competition, you'll try and get the maximum price, as you would do. If all of a sudden a new development is built down the road with maybe a different specification or a different price and it offers incentives, then that developer is then faced with a choice, they either carry on and maybe their sales rates will not be at the same level, or they have to change their pricing, or be more competitive on the offers incentives. And for me, that's what I class as a healthy marketplace. And that's what I'm very passionate about doing, is bringing more competition into the new home space, creating more products and services for those developers so they've got more options and more choice.”

Enjoy the episode!

We would love to get your feedback on the topics covered on this podcast - please email [email protected] to let us know what you think, and subscribe to this podcast if you enjoyed today's episode.