Why do people buy Persimmon / Barratt / New-built houses ?

dungabeagle

I work with someone who’s partner is a builder for Persimmon, they are offered massive discounts if they buy a persimmon home... 
they both live with their parents while they save up to buy a non-Persimmon home, even though it will cost them more than twice as much, so that should probably tell people something about their quality!

teachfast

I think many of the comments on here are born out of jealousy. 

Fiesto88

It comes down to what you want, not just in the house itself, but also your surroundings. Some of the reasons I don’t like new builds are selling points to other people:

1) large open plan kitchen / dining / living rooms - I like individual rooms and spaces 

2) enough toilets / bathrooms for families of five to each have their own - to me it’s just burdensome cleaning 

3) blank canvas - I generally prefer to take what’s there and modify some bits and accept others. I don’t have the imagination or patience for designing things entirely to my own spec

4) relative seclusion - a lot of people like their home to be their own island where they escape the outside world but I find large new build developments a tad lonely. 

5) everything’s sparkly new - for me, that just means I’m more likely to notice the tiniest defect. 

LittleMax

We bought a new build in 2012 - we had a relocation package from my hubbie's new job which was time limited.  For us it was the quickest and easiest way to move within the time to take advantage of the package.  In 2012 the market was stagnant and there was not such a new build premium so it worked well for us. We have just moved and this time we did not choose another new build.

ElizabethRose

A lot of people want a house no one has ever lived in and is new and fresh. Also the show home sells a lifestyle and a lot of people can't see past a dated decor so it's not surprising they're popular. A close family member works for a small house builder and a lot of customers aren't first time buyers so it's not naivety as you suggest. 

Personally not for me but mainly because where I live the new builds are in or next to questionable areas. Each to their own but new houses help the economy. 

woodsford

Thanks guys - some good responses. 


Useful to hear other people views.

katkatmachine

woodsford said:

A bit of background, there are a few new homes (such as Persimmon / Barratt) being built near to the area I live in and we have read the following:


1) They don't look like they were built with good materials and look as if they could fall apart easily.

2) They're priced well above what nice old houses go for around here. Around £60k or more and I'm being generous here - plus these nice old houses tend to have more space internally and externally.

3) They tend to age quickly and lose value if you sell it 3+ years down the line.

4) The space inside is quite cramped and garden tend to be small.

5) Lots of reviews on here and online about issues with Persimmon / new built homes.

6) These homes are being built on floodplains and they get flooded almost every 2 years



Excuse me for the direct question - why do people still buy these homes?



Possible answers in my head:

1) People cannot afford older houses therefore resort to Help to Buy as it is the only way for them to get on the ladder?

2) Inexperienced / not having done their own due dilgence?

3) Prefer to live in a brand new house?

4) Status thing? 

We bought a new build two-bed home and we love it. The reasons are:

1. It is what we can afford. We got HTB. 

2. I checked the estate agents office and I notice that the price of the old houses (2-bed) they are selling is almost the same as ours. Also, i love the whole development, it’s pretty. Lol. It includes two public open spaces and a huge park. 

3. Yes, we like modern style houses. We are not into renovating, repairing and stuff. Also, we prefer open-plan design. Old houses are mostly divided into separate rooms: living room, kitchen, dining, etc which we don’t like. 

4. Garden may be small but having lived in a flat in London for several years, we would take anything as long as we have an outside space!

5. Location. This should be actually listed at the top! Lol. The house that we bought is still near London where we work. As we all know, house prices in London are astronomical (lol), we found a few that fits our budget but we didn’t like the location and we still need to do a lot of stuff (as ive said we are not into renovating) so we checked the ones in the countryside but still near London and found the development here in Kent.

6. Build quality is actually good especially the sound proofing. I cannot hear our next door neighbour at all. I don’t even know if they are even in there. Lol. We have few snags but the site manager sorted them though it took like two months for the ones that are not super urgent! But still glad it got sorted. 

Also, we did our due diligence!!! The house ticked all our boxes especially the location so we bought it. Just because we bought a new build doesn’t mean we’re stupid.  We all have our own reasons for buying/doing things. We don’t like old houses because for us they are hard work, we don’t have time and the energy to make them fit our style, but I’m not implying that those who bought them are stupid and lazy or didn’t do due dillegence in checking them. I understand there are new build horror stories but there are loads too in old houses. So yeah to each his own.

lookstraightahead

I think the question is like asking why someone buys one car over another.

I like old houses but that is usually because of where they are. I've bought a three bed run down terrace in a lovely area, rather than a 4 bed new detached between a motorway and an industrial estate. Most would go for the new house and dodge the one I've bought like a bullet.

woodsford

katkatmachine said:

woodsford said:

A bit of background, there are a few new homes (such as Persimmon / Barratt) being built near to the area I live in and we have read the following:


1) They don't look like they were built with good materials and look as if they could fall apart easily.

2) They're priced well above what nice old houses go for around here. Around £60k or more and I'm being generous here - plus these nice old houses tend to have more space internally and externally.

3) They tend to age quickly and lose value if you sell it 3+ years down the line.

4) The space inside is quite cramped and garden tend to be small.

5) Lots of reviews on here and online about issues with Persimmon / new built homes.

6) These homes are being built on floodplains and they get flooded almost every 2 years



Excuse me for the direct question - why do people still buy these homes?



Possible answers in my head:

1) People cannot afford older houses therefore resort to Help to Buy as it is the only way for them to get on the ladder?

2) Inexperienced / not having done their own due dilgence?

3) Prefer to live in a brand new house?

4) Status thing? 

We bought a new build two-bed home and we love it. The reasons are:

1. It is what we can afford. We got HTB. 

2. I checked the estate agents office and I notice that the price of the old houses (2-bed) they are selling is almost the same as ours. Also, i love the whole development, it’s pretty. Lol. It includes two public open spaces and a huge park. 

3. Yes, we like modern style houses. We are not into renovating, repairing and stuff. Also, we prefer open-plan design. Old houses are mostly divided into separate rooms: living room, kitchen, dining, etc which we don’t like. 

4. Garden may be small but having lived in a flat in London for several years, we would take anything as long as we have an outside space!

5. Location. This should be actually listed at the top! Lol. The house that we bought is still near London where we work. As we all know, house prices in London are astronomical (lol), we found a few that fits our budget but we didn’t like the location and we still need to do a lot of stuff (as ive said we are not into renovating) so we checked the ones in the countryside but still near London and found the development here in Kent.

6. Build quality is actually good especially the sound proofing. I cannot hear our next door neighbour at all. I don’t even know if they are even in there. Lol. We have few snags but the site manager sorted them though it took like two months for the ones that are not super urgent! But still glad it got sorted. 

Also, we did our due diligence!!! The house ticked all our boxes especially the location so we bought it. Just because we bought a new build doesn’t mean we’re stupid.  We all have our own reasons for buying/doing things. We don’t like old houses because for us they are hard work, we don’t have time and the energy to make them fit our style, but I’m not implying that those who bought them are stupid and lazy or didn’t do due dillegence in checking them. I understand there are new build horror stories but there are loads too in old houses. So yeah to each his own.

Good to hear that it's worked out well for you. I think what you've just described there sounds pretty sensible to be honest and answered our question in one post.

All the best and congratulations for getting a place.

MalMonroe

It's an interesting question but Barrett and Persimmon have been building homes for years and are both still building. 

This is interesting - https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-8697425/UK-housebuilders-investigated-watchdog-leaseholds.html 

Personally I do prefer a new build! But there are always 'snags'. Nice, fresh homes, though. And sometimes they have fitted kitchens and flooring and gardens, which is always a bonus.