Catering for the changing landscape of the property market

According to a research report published last year by the Resolution Foundation thinktank, 30-year-olds are only half as likely to own their own home as their baby boomer parents.

The report also states that a young family today would need to save for on average 19 years to afford a typical deposit, compared with three years for the previous generation. A housing catastrophe is on our doorstep, which has seen changes in the property market with the demand for rentals increasing. According to a Knight Frank report, a quarter of households in UK will be renting privately by end of 2021.

A different service for a new generation
Our client Orbital Living was set up by a consortium of private landlords, who between them have over 200 premium rooms to rent in properties across London. All the rooms are interior designed with good quality furnishings and high spec appliances. They even come with a concierge service!

This generation who can’t afford to buy want quality rooms in households shared with other likeminded professionals. They don’t want to feel as though they’re still living in student accommodation.

Launching the new offering
Our role was to deliver the website for Orbital Living, whose goal was to become the ‘go-to’ provider of quality rental accommodation in the areas they cover. The website needed to serve multiple audiences, including big corporates who employ lots of 21yrs+ professionals and need to source premium accommodation for contractors, or employees relocating.

Style and function
The site needed a modern and slick design, but also had to come across as friendly and trusted – safety and security is high on these professional’s agenda. UX was crucial here with this digital native group who are demanding with their technology and expect a super intuitive experience.

Delivery
The outcome was a site that uses subtle JavaScript animation that creates a smooth page load. Large imagery showcases the great accommodation and the intuitive user experience makes it easy for housemates to view properties and get all the information they need quickly.

We know that this group are particularly receptive to video content – it’s reported that millennials spend 48% more time watching online videos than the average internet user (Marketing Land) – so we embedded video on the website to view the properties.

Using testimonials provides great site credibility, so these were included to highlight the benefits and the kind of professionals that are using the service. Social media will be playing a big part in spreading the word via Instagram and YouTube, which is in the pipeline for phase two.