CITY CENTRAL

It’s both a lifestyle choice and an investment, putting you closer to work and letting you get further away from it. There’s no wonder the pied à terre is so popular with modern professionals.

THE CITY CENTRE PIED À TERRE USED TO BE FOR OCCASIONAL USE ONLY, TO BE pressed into service when the owners wanted to come into town for business. But with travel becoming faster and easier, more people are seizing the opportunity to live the family life they want in the quiet of the countryside, while commuting into town for a portion of the working week. Buying a modest apartment for one person also means your money will go further, allowing you to own much nearer to where you work than if you were looking for a family home. It also means you can hold an investment in a popular location instead of throwing money away in rent.

Always quick to catch on, developers are now targeting city properties at executives searching for this blend of convenience and fl exibility. Apartments in key commutable locations are often designed for this type of buyer, with the minimum amount of space they need at a price they’re prepared to pay.

ManYoo in Manchester’s Salford Quays is one such development. Designed by KW Linfoot under the swanky YOO brand, its studios are aimed at buyers who need somewhere to live short term. The stylish properties measure 28m2, with one room providing living, sleeping and cooking space, plus a small bathroom.

It may not seem much but it’s ideal if you just need to put your head down between shifts at the office. “We’re definitely seeing a requirement for pared down city accommodation,” says David Waddington of KW Linfoot. “Professionals want smart pads, and condensed living space is perfect if you need somewhere to stay for a few nights a week.”

Salford Quays has lots of business and residential blocks, plus it offers easy access via the tram network to Manchester’s centre. The BBC recently announced that it is relocating 15,000 jobs to Salford’s Media City and, with prices now starting at £102,750 (€130,900), Waddington predicts a lot of sales will be to workers forced to move from London for part of the week.

Such purchases are increasingly popular in key European cities with large international workforces. Brussels is a classic example thanks to the number of multinational companies, plus the EU headquarters brings hundreds of foreign workers, parliamentary officials and MEPs from the 27 member states. Many need accommodation in the city, usually for three to five years.

“You see a lot of short-term ownership in Brussels,” says Eoghan Quinn of Ireland’s Thornsett Group, which is developing several residential properties in the city. “MEPs need somewhere to live from Monday to Wednesday, and they also have staff who go home at weekends. Most want a home from home, rather than a hotel or serviced apartment.”

Quinn claims people are looking for both affordability and convenience. He says Brussels is an obvious choice due to its keen prices and its excellent transport links across Europe.

It isn’t just overseas workers snapping up accommodation there, though, and Quinn is also seeing local professionals who want the best of both worlds. He recently sold to one Antwerp businesswoman who had to split her working week between both cities, and has also seen doctors from local hospitals who want somewhere comfortable to stay between shifts, instead of commuting back to the suburbs.

Quinn says that, instead of renting, many people want to invest their funds. “If you have a placement here for three to five years, it’s worth buying because if you hold Belgian property for five years you can sell without capital gains tax.”

Such concerns don’t tend to bother Dutch workers commuting into Amsterdam. Local agent Peter Beerents of Home in Amsterdam claims that, unlike London, it’s so quick and easy to get around the city that people wouldn’t bother to own two bases. However, around 95% of his clients are overseas employees, looking to buy or rent a place while working for one of the city’s multinationals.

“If you’re here for one or two years it doesn’t make sense to buy as rental is around €2,500 (£1,900) per month for a good property in a central location, which is cheaper than a mortgage,” he says, “but anyone here for three to five years will often buy.” Prices currently range between €5,000 (£3,900) and €7,000 (£5,500) per square metre, depending on style and location of property.

Popular areas for singles and business people to buy include De Pijp and the Old West district but, because Amsterdam is a small city and transport connections are so good, Beerents says you could pretty much live anywhere and be within 10 to 20 minutes of the centre and the airport. Good train services also make Amsterdam just two hours from Brussels, and UK executives love the fact that Schiphol to London is a 45-minute hop.

Anyone fl ying into London’s City Airport regularly can’t have missed the increasing amount of residential property being built in the area. One reason is the demand for homes with easy access of the city centre and financial districts. Developer Gladedale has a prime site with its Royal Quays development, overlooking the water and opposite the airport. From here it’s just minutes to Canary Wharf and about half an hour to the City. Gladedale’s Maggie Brodie says that many buyers use their apartments as a base during the week while commuting home at weekends, or they rent to others who do.

“Royal Quays is in a very convenient location. The Docklands Light Railway is on the doorstep, as is the airport,” she says. “One owner is able to leave here at 5.30pm on Friday and fl y into Antwerp by 8pm. He then comes back on Monday morning and is at his desk by 9am.”

One-bed homes at Royal Quays have sold out and two-beds now start at £375,000 (€478,000). Penthouses cost £695,000 (€885,000) for three bedrooms plus a terrace, which Brodie claims is high enough to encourage the pilots to wave at you as they come into land just across the water.

Banker John Mace owns a one-bed place in the development and loves being so close to where he works in London’s centre. His family home is a two-hour train journey from the City, so the time and cost of commuting each day made buying a crash pad a no-brainer. “The daily travelling made it difficult for me to put in enough hours at the office,” he says, “I tried hotels but it was expensive and not as nice as having your own space.” Mace now thinks he has the best of both worlds: a country home to escape to at weekends and an urban base with the City on the doorstep. “There are times, particularly when you’re working hard, when you want home comforts as well as convenience.”

CRASH PAD ESSENTIALS

• Smart, low-maintenance and comfortable

accommodation with good communications installed. Secure parking is a bonus if you need to leave the car there all week.
• A location that’s convenient for public

transport links to the business districts and city centre, but also offering a quick route to and from home at the weekends by road, rail or air.
• Decent on-site facilities. Lonely evenings

can be filled by using the building’s gym, pool or restaurant. Some upmarket places, particularly those with on-site hotels, now offer bowling alleys, spas and cinemas.

WORDS BY LAURA LATHAM