Why are people buying new builds.

Mutton_Geoff

I really believe Margaret Thatcher sold off much of the local authority housing stock then allowed the market to skew the concept of home ownership so many more people were able to get loans and climb on the "property ladder".


This has shifted the responsibility from the councils to the individuals such that there has been so much building of massive housing estates with an eye on cost to make them "affordable" when for many, property ownership is a burden they didn't expect.


The UK market is distorted by the sheer number of owner occupiers living on very low mortgage interest rates that a gentle hike in rates to where they really need to be (c 5%) would cause the whole lot to come tumbling down. (I'm beginning to sound like Crashy!)


The obsession with ownership is fairly unique to the UK.

zagubov

We need good designs. Posters here may not like particular examples but if you're going to want low-rise houses, you need to accept limits on garden space.

Does the rest of Europe need inadequately-sized garages to store tools and paint? First I've heard of it.

If we just try to squeeze into existing housing we'll just be living in rabbit-hutches compared with the rest of Europe. It would be an astonishingly lucky coincidence if it turned out that subdividing older buildings is hardly likely to be the best way to accommodate a growing fragmented population.

RelievedSheff

I'm not sure why you think garages are inadequately sized. The garage to our new build comfortably fits our mk1 Sierra, the spare fridge freezer and a work bench along with associated tools, ladders, spare parts etc.

It is more than adequately sized for the job.

We needed a garage as part of our move to house the car which we have no intention of getting rid of. Most of the houses here have garages, it is only a handful of the cheaper homes that dont have one.

[Deleted User]

I can see the attraction in new builds and why people prefer them. I bought an older 3 bed semi and three years on am still working my way through decorating each room, dreading what nasties I'll find each time I peel back a strip of the 1970's style wallpaper.

I have friends who bought a 4 bed new build which I often look at with envy, with their shiny built in appliances and fancy interior doors.

On the other hand their garden is half the size of ours and surrounded by other houses, whereas ours overlooks fields at the back.

TBagpuss

I thnk that new properties can look very appealing because you see a show home, which is specifcally deisgned and styled to sell a property, whereas buying any other property you are seeing the current owners taste and any flaws in the house.

There is an appeal in being able to just move in, and often the ability to have a degree of choice over some elements like kitchen units etc, without having the hassle of replacing the kitchen once you move in.

I think it does vary a lot depending on the size of the property you are looking at.

My first two homes were a 1912 2 bed terrace and a 1970s 2 bed ex Housing Association terrace, and both provided much larger rooms and more space gerally than newer proprties, and to me, the newer ones felt incredibly cramped. (for instance, one new buid I viewed had room for a double bed and 1 bedside cabinet, in the master bedroom, and the second bedroom wouldn't even have fitted a full size single bed. the stiars were in the living room and there was just enough outside space to park a car.
By contract, in my 70's terrace I was able to fit a double bed and a wardrobe, desk and shelving into the smaller, second bedroom. I didn't have a off road parking of my own but there was a small car park as well as the on street parking, so even with most households having more than one car there was always somewere to park.

i think if you are buying a larger property, new builds (or some of them) are probably less pokey compared with similar, older properties, although you often get slightly smaller bedrooms and more bathrooms, so part of it is about what your priorites are - I live by myself, so having extra beathrooms or an en suite wre not high on my list of priorities, having rooms which felt more spaciaous, and sufficent outrside space, were. (I can live with sharing a bathroom when I have guests - if I had children I might see extra bathrooms as more importnat even if the trade off was smaller rooms generally. Similarly, I knew I could live with the poor decorating choices etc. of the previous owners until I could afford to have eveything done to my taste, and I expect to be in my currnt house for decades - I can see why people would make diferent choices in different situations.

I guess one of the questions for the OP is "Why did you buy your new build?"

MandM90

I don't understand it at all, at least not where I am (commuter town in South East)

We're just about to exchange on a 1930s style (actually built in 1950s but build halted due to WWII!) detached with a detached garage and driveway, wide plot, long garden backing onto allotments and ancient woodland. It's also on a private cul de sac with no parking restrictions and plenty of space. My surveyor uncle came and looked at the house and is very impressed with build quality and how well looked after it's been.

The other side of the woodland (much further from train station and in an inferior school catchment area) they're building 'executive homes' which are more expensive, postage stamp sized overlooked gardens, tiny bedrooms, parking for exactly 2 cars each - no idea what they do if they have a party - and off a busy road. The only different I can see is that they're 'staged' to look modern and beautiful, and en suites feature heavily. Looking at other 5 year old 'new builds' already on the market in the area, I also strongly suspect the price will drop in the short term. I have always thought that people buy them to leverage the loans/government schemes in place and have heard of people buying for as high as 95% LTV!

It's interesting to see so many reporting fewer issues with new builds. I have friends who have bought them that say the opposite and have struggled to get anything fixed even under the NHBC guarantee. On the other hand, my current house - built in 1899 and renovated by the tradesman who owned it for 20 years before we bought - has never given me one issue. No damp, not one leak...absolutely nothing!

muhandis

Why are people buying new builds?

- Help to buy
- Lack of suitable housing coming on to the market, especially in times of dull housing markets when people just don't move.
- Lack of desire/time/expertise to deal with the huge variations and unknowns in quality of non new-build housing stock.
- Plenty of toilets, showers, bathrooms: especially important for people of overseas origin who are often used to bedrooms being en-suites and toilets on each floor.
- Help to buy

I personally have nothing against new builds, any additional housing stock coming into the market can only be a good thing.

If I was an FTB, I would seriously consider a new-build due to the incentives available. New build prices are unfortunately inflated (by 15-20% imho) due to the incentives available and so are harder to justify as a non-FTB.

I do have a question though. The average sales of new builds (in England) from 1995 to the recession in 2007 was about 114,000 a year. In the time since, the average has been about 79,000 a year. The most recent year (2018), the number was almost 104,000.

I don't know much about the housing market prior to 2010, was there anything similar to Help2Buy which encouraged the the high numbers of new builds being sold from 1995 to the recession?

letitbe90

muhandis wrote: »

Why are people buying new builds?

- Help to buy
- Lack of suitable housing coming on to the market, especially in times of dull housing markets when people just don't move.
- Lack of desire/time/expertise to deal with the huge variations and unknowns in quality of non new-build housing stock.
- Plenty of toilets, showers, bathrooms: especially important for people of overseas origin who are often used to bedrooms being en-suites and toilets on each floor.
- Help to buy

I personally have nothing against new builds, any additional housing stock coming into the market can only be a good thing.

If I was an FTB, I would seriously consider a new-build due to the incentives available. New build prices are unfortunately inflated (by 15-20% imho) due to the incentives available and so are harder to justify as a non-FTB.

I do have a question though. The average sales of new builds (in England) from 1995 to the recession in 2007 was about 114,000 a year. In the time since, the average has been about 79,000 a year. The most recent year (2018), the number was almost 104,000.

I don't know much about the housing market prior to 2010, was there anything similar to Help2Buy which encouraged the the high numbers of new builds being sold from 1995 to the recession?

It is interesting the argument that H2B is inflating prices, not that I am disputing but then when the condition of H2B is that the valuation equals asking price and a down valuation invalidates H2B, how does it occur?

Are we saying there is effective fraud by surveyors/lenders?

RelievedSheff

I'm not so sure that new builds are always over priced.

We looked at some houses built around 2000 near to where we bought our new build and for similar sized 3 bed detached with garage they were around £200k.

We paid £210k for our new build.

£10k doesn't go far when you have to start redecorating every room and replacing bathroom suites and kitchen units and appliances. Oh and skimming over artex ceilings, why on why was artex still used until so recently?

muhandis

The way I see it, house prices are directly related to the availability of credit to buy said houses. So, whatever it might be that allows increased borrowing (for example H2B) adds to the price that people are willing to pay (or more accurately are willing/able to borrow).

letitbe90 wrote: »

It is interesting the argument that H2B is inflating prices, not that I am disputing but then when the condition of H2B is that the valuation equals asking price and a down valuation invalidates H2B, how does it occur?

Are we saying there is effective fraud by surveyors/lenders?