New build or Renovation?

spud211

Whats your motivation for moving - what would you do next?

If you took the newbuild, how long would you stay there?

You will find a hugely negative trend towards the newbuild homes on these boards, but don't let that put you off them..there are some of us here that love newbuild homes and would always prefer to move to one of them than an old house.

That being said though, i'm working on the assumption that you would plan to stay there 5+ years, otherwise as mentioned, you are virtually guaranteed to lose money on the newbuild. After that it's anyones guess but in the short term if you are planning to move in a few years, then just don't do it.

A rennovation is an exciting opportunity but think long and hard about how quickly you can get it done and how you will finance it. A "couple of years" is a very long time to get a property renovated in my opinion - and quite risky in the current market. 6-12 months is much safer..and you save lots in the repayments

Ms_Sophia

I'd be interested to understand why so many people think that new builds are guaranteed to lose in value within few years?
We heard it several times but when we were looking at some flats which were built 1-2-3 years ago, all of them were on the current market for so much more!
E.g. - bought in 2009 for £434k, has been tenanted and then put on the market for £475k! Has gone under offer in less than a month.
Another one - purchased in 2009 for £350k, the owner has lived in it, and now on the market for £450k!

Maybe in 'good areas' new builds are mostly growing in value? We were looking in Wimbledon and Clapham in London.

Radiantsoul

Ms_Sophia wrote: »

I'd be intrested to understand why so many people think that new builds are guaranteed to lose in value within few years?

Experience? In a lot of places you find new builds fall in value. Why would someone pay more for a nearly new house, when you can get a brand new from the developer in the next phase?
Also in the housing bubble many types of property; two bedroom flats were built in the wrong areas and led to conditions of oversupply. Perhaps there will also be demand in desirable locations in London, but many places do seem to have a lot of flats and it may take some years for the backlog to clear(as a result of a reduction in housebuilding).

Ms_Sophia

It seems that it largely depends on the location. In the most desirable locations such as some areas in London (Wimbledon) there are not so many new builds at all, good modern builds are very rare. So when the previously-new-build do come back to the market in 1-3 years time, there is quite a big demand for them.

geoffky

Oh dear i see some people are still in pre 2007 mindset....prices are going nowhere but down for a long time in my opinion because the prices being asked are unaffordable long term...The market always corrects itself when it is out of kilter.new builds will always lose you up to 20% the minute you sign the dotted line...thats the premium for buying new.