Second time's a charm as off the plan buyer secures another apartment with GWH in Newcastle: Urban Buyer Q&A

Purchasing off the plan can often feel like a confidence challenge; however, once you’ve done it once, the process becomes much easier.

Many buyers find themselves returning to secure apartments in new developments by the same developer, given assurances they've delivered quality before, and, in a lot of cases around the country, price growth on the initial purchase.

This is precisely the case in Newcastle, where Neil Owens recently purchased an apartment at ONE Apartments, the new two-tower project by local builder-developer GWH. It marked Neil's second purchase with GWH. He bought off the plan in SKY Residences, just 650 metres down the road.

"I have firsthand experience with the developer's quality, and I believe that, like any reputable developer, they will always strive to make each new building even better," Neil said

Neil has been living on the top level of Sky since its completion in 2022. 

"It's an amazing apartment," Neil says. 

"That was my downsize from my house in the area. I was seeking to scale back work commitments and slow life down, and buying an apartment was part of that."

Neil's purchases with GWH were driven by what he wanted to do for his daughter.

"I wanted to buy something new for my daughter that nobody had lived in," Neil said.

Neil secured one of the few two-level, two-bedroom apartments in ONE Apartments, which he intends to move into.

Going back six years, Neil was looking to downsize locally. He had been looking around Newcastle's centre, but it was a chance meeting after a football coaching camp that paved the way for the start of Neil and GWH's relationship.

Neil scheduled an appointment to go and see SKY Residences after the weekend, a weekend when he was training to become a football coach. When he visited the display on the Monday, he was welcomed by a familiar face.

That was GWH Sales Director Peter Kunov, who had been at the same football coaching training at the weekend. 

"It was a chance encounter but it immediately put me at ease that I was talking to someone that was part of the local community," Neil recalled, admitting that he was a little out of his depth.

"I'd never bought off the plan before, and I hadn't lived in an apartment since I was young. But at the time, GWH was building several developments around the area, and SKY was 75 per cent complete, it wasn't just a hole in the ground. That helped me make my decision, and I'm glad I was patient and waited the six months or so for completion and move-in, rather than buy something that would be more short-term thinking."

Neil had looked at some apartments down on the foreshore, but he said the quality "just wasn't there."

His downsizing plans to a secure apartment will allow him the lock-up-and-leave lifestyle downsizers often seek.

ONE Apartments is the latest Newcastle apartment project by reputable builder-developer GWH, a company synonymous with development in Newcastle since its inception in 1995.

The two 22 and 19-level towers designed by Marchese Partners are connected by a four-level podium that will home a commercial space and will be crowned with an outdoor pool.

There are further facilities throughout the building, like a cinema, gym, sauna, bookable private function room, and two rooftop entertainment areas. The Scenic Lounge is located on the 22nd floor of the South Tower, and the Harbourview Lounge is atop the 19th floor of the North Tower.

Over half of the 193 apartments in ONE Apartments have sold, mostly to locals.

GWH's in-house construction arm is on track to complete the two buildings at the end of 2025.

Neil took part in Urban's Buyer Q&A series which focuses on the driving factors behind buying off the plan property in Australia