A national campaign celebrating the contribution new homes make to the UK's housing stock ends today, after a week-long effort to highlight how buying new can help to alleviate some of the uncertainties of getting on or moving up the property ladder.
New Homes Week, set up by the Home Builders Federation, is held each year and provides would-be buyers with information about the buying incentives and consumer protections that can come with buying new.
A total of 191,801 new registrations were recorded by the National House Building Council (NHBC) last year, marking the highest annual total since 2007 – and 26% higher than in 2021.
Figures also showed that 151,120 new homes were completed in 2022, up 8% compared with the year before - although there are fears that numbers could slump this year.
Updated research by the HBF has shown that new build properties could save owners an average of more than £2,500 per property each year when the Energy Price Guarantee increases on April 1, and an increasing number of banks and building societies are also providing discounted rates on green properties or are beginning to incorporate a property’s EPC rating into their affordability calculations.
But what are the other benefits of buying new?
Here are a few of the advantages to choosing a new build.
GUARANTEED QUALITY
Dawn Urry, head of sales and marketing at Bennett Homes (bennett-homes.co.uk), an award-winning family-run company that has been building properties in East Anglia for the past 75 years, says it all starts with a quality build.
“The construction industry in the UK is building homes of a very high quality which need to meet stringent standards of safety, craftsmanship and energy-efficiency,” she says.
She advises buying from a builder offering National House Building Council (NHBC) cover, which is the leading warranty and insurance provider for housebuilding in the UK, covering new and newly-converted homes.
A SIMPLER PROCESS
According to research from Legal & General, moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do – in fact, 57% of those surveyed singled it out as the most stressful life event. But buying new can offer a more straightforward process.
Tom Amis, who leads the new homes team at Savills in Norfolk, says buying a new build offers lots of potential advantages – especially for first time buyers.
“The prospect of buying a home can be daunting, particularly for those who have not bought before,” he says. “Cancellations due to a bad survey, a chain falling through or being gazumped can be as high as 20 per cent in the second hand market. This falls to low single figures when buying a new home – the reservation fee holds the property, preventing the developer from accepting a higher offer if you exchange within the time parameters agreed.
“Developers also have to accord with the House Builders Code of Conduct which sets out strict rules. And for additional peace of mind there are no survey issues to contend with.”
LOCATION AND CONVENIENCE
Many new builds are located in semi-rural locations which means buyers can enjoy a peaceful setting as well as the convenience and connectivity that comes with being closer to a big town or city.
They’re often located on the fringes of more urban areas or are designed to exist as self-contained communities themselves.
Most come with allocated parking, rather than permits, and many come with gardens and/or green space nearby.
Developments are also often designed to be bird and bee-friendly, with flower meadows, bat boxes, swift bricks and hedgehog highways to promote better biodiversity.
PERSON-CENTRED DESIGN
New builds also tend to be better designed than older properties – or at least better suited to modern living.
“Today’s new properties are designed for today’s lifestyles - with more open-plan living areas, studies for working from home, en suite bathrooms and larger kitchens with breakfast and dining areas, which makes for a more sociable home where you can entertain as you cook,” says Dawn.
“There’s also built-in storage in bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as provision for fibre broadband and all the communications technology you will need.”
A new home also provides a great blank canvas, removing the need to live with the previous owners’ décor choices, says Tom. “If a property is reserved early within a development, there is a chance you will be able to have input into colour schemes and fixtures and fittings. And any outdoor space is often landscaped, so there is no need to spend at the garden centre either.”
As a rule, new homes are built to a much higher spec than many older homes and include things like new fitted kitchens and en suite shower rooms which, with an older property, you might want refurbished once you’ve moved in. “On average, people buying an older home spend £50,000 in bringing it up to new-build specification,” says Dawn.
SECURITY AND PEACE OF MIND
Buying new can also offer extra reassurances, as new homes are designed to comply with high building standards, including double-glazed windows, fire resistant materials, circuit breakers and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed as standard.
Tom says: “Everything from heat, light, plumbing and glazing should be turn-key ready, minimising the need for general repair and maintenance work.”
The fitted kitchens in many new builds come with integrated appliances, says Dawn, including ovens, cooker hoods and dishwashers. “Everything is sparkling new, energy-efficient and covered by extended guarantees and warranties.”
Individual developers may also offer their own assurances too. Bennett Homes, for example, has its own two-year warranty scheme, which ensures there are no unexpected expenses for renovations or repairs.
MORE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES
New builds are also being incentivised in ways that other, older-style properties are not, helping buyers to better cover the cost.
Help to Buy may have ended last year but there are still other schemes out there, including deposit unlock, which allows first-time buyers to purchase a new-build with a 5% deposit and a 95% mortgage, discounts for key workers or even the payment of legal fees and stamp duty.
Some schemes also offer support for key workers and those in the Armed Forces and there’s also shared ownership, which allows those who may struggle to raise a deposit or secure a mortgage the chance to buy shares of a property, usually between 25 and 75%.
Tom says that previous experience has shown that new build properties often perform differently in an economic downturn compared to the rest of the housing market.
“At a time when home owners are sometimes reluctant to put their properties on the market, new build homes often become the easiest – or indeed only – option for those looking to move. This happened at the end of the last global financial crisis and a similar scenario could well emerge now – particularly as interest rates begin to stabilise,” he said.
“Buyers of new build homes are also less mortgage dependent than the market as a whole, meaning they are less likely to be affected by increasing mortgage rates.
“Our new homes sales data suggests that almost half (49%) of new build purchasers are buying without the need for a mortgage, compared to 35% across the whole housing market. As a result, given the number of cash buyers, there is reason to believe new build transaction volumes may perform more strongly than the wider market.
“Looking ahead, we anticipate that demand for shared ownership over the next two years will also remain relatively strong, with particular appeal to first-time buyers who find their budgets curtailed by rising mortgage costs.”
Of course, buying a new build won’t be for everyone, but they do offer wide appeal.
The best advice is to first find the area you want to buy in, research the developers and developments available and then book an appointment with a sales adviser to secure a show home and site visit.
Find out more about the benefits of buying new at the website, new-homes.co.uk.
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