New builds account for just 14% of property sales in England and Wales

New builds account for just 14% of property sales in England and Wales

New research shows that new build homes made up less than 14% of total property sales in England and Wales during 2016.

According to Fasthomes analysis, the area with lowest share of new build sales was Oxford at just 4.3%. Cardiff was just ahead of this at 5.9%, followed by Ipswich and Stoke on Trent at 6.6% and 6.8% respectively.

In contrast, the figures indicated that Cambridge was home to the highest proportion of new build sales at 21%, with London and Newport closely following with respective shares of 20% and 19.9%.

Commenting on the analysis results was Fasthomes’ Adrian Smith. He highlighted the appeal of existing properties for many prospective buyers, as well as mentioning the unlikelihood of change until the gap between new home demand and supply reduces.

‘Buying an existing property offers several advantages over a brand new home. Firstly, there is the price factor as new builds are on average more expensive. Secondly, old homes, especially those built before 1980 tend to be bigger than new builds. And finally, there are simply not enough new homes,’ said Adrian Smith from Fasthomes.

‘According to some estimates, the UK is short of some 100,000 homes a year when it comes to the ratio between the supply and demand of new builds. Until the gap between the demand and supply of new homes closes, we can’t really expect any major changes in the housing market when it comes to new builds compared to existing properties.’

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