Do New Build Homes Cost More Than Old Homes?

How Does The Price Of New Builds Compare To Old Homes?

• In 2019, new build homes across England and Wales cost an average of 19% more than pre-owned homes - that's an average of £55,568!
• New properties in the North East, Wales and East Midlands were particularly more expensive than pre-owned properties.
• New flats/maisonettes in the North East, Wales and West Midlands cost 50%+ more than their pre-owned counterparts.
• However, new-build detached properties were cheaper than pre-owned detached homes in Greater London, the South East, the North West and the South West.

Are New Homes Worth The Extra Cost?

It may be worth paying more for a brand new home for the following reasons:

• You won't need to do work on your new property - updating an old property can cost 10's of thousands of pounds, depending on what needs doing.
• New homes come with a 10 year warranty, so you won't have any unexpected repairs that leave you out of pocket.
• Some shared equity schemes like Help to Buy Wales can only be used on new homes. Depending on your circumstances, these schemes may be able to save you money on mortgage payments for the first few years at your new home. 
• New homes are built to the latest energy efficiency standards, so you may be able to save on your energy bills.

Of course, many people prefer the character and size of older homes - so the extra cost of a new build won't be worth paying for everyone!

How Popular are New Builds?

• In 2019, 11.5% of all properties sold in England and Wales were new builds.
• Wales had the lowest rate of new build sales (6.6% of all sales were new builds), while Greater London had the highest (13.7% of all sales were new builds).

New Home vs Old Home Average Purchase Price 2019

As you can see from the table above, new builds cost more than pre-owned properties in every region last year.

The difference was most noticeable in the North East and Wales regions, while in the South East new builds didn't cost much more than old homes. 

As a general rule, areas with lower average property prices saw the greatest difference in price between old properties and new builds.

Detached properties are the only property type where the average cost of new builds was actually cheaper than old builds in some regions. 

In Greater London, new detached properties were 25% cheaper than old ones. This significant difference could be because Greater London is such a populated region that the only room to build new detached properties is on the outskirts. Generally, property prices decrease as the further you get from central London. 

Semi-detached properties seem to mirror the general trend across the regions. Once again, Wales, East Midlands and the North East are in the top 3 for the most expensive new builds when compared to the price of an old home. 

When we break down the data to analyse the prices of terraced properties, we see the North West climb to the top of the table, with new build terraced houses over 50% more expensive than pre-owned properties.

In contrast, this region was one of the lowest for semi-detached and detached properties - detached new builds were actually around 10% cheaper than similar pre-owned properties! So, if you're looking for a new build in the North West, it could be worth looking at detached or semi-detached properties if you want to get the most bang for your buck.

While the North East and Wales are once again at the top of the table, it's also worth noting that Greater London and the South West have climbed higher in this category. In cities like London and Bristol, apartment living is particularly popular - which could be why new build flats are sold at a premium.

Percentage Of Property Sales That Were New Build 2019

New builds made up the highest proportion of the housing market in Greater London and the North East - two very different areas. 

In contrast, Wales was the only region where new builds made up less than 10% of all properties sold last year. 

All data from HM Land Registry.