Britain is often divided along two property buying lines - those who buy new and those who don't. As New Homes Month 2010 begins, we look at the pros and cons of these two different choices.
The property market is like no other in one, unique way – most people buy second-hand. For example, there are over 4.5 million Victorian and Edwardian properties in the UK, many of which can claim dozens of owners over the past 160 years. And they remain popular despite the downturn - 150,000 will be bought and sold this year alone.
And the rest of Britain’s 21 million second-hand homes hail from the many other property booms Britain has witnessed including medieval, Georgian, Elizabethan and more recently during the 50s, 60s and 70s.
So given our love of ‘period homes’ why do 100,000-plus people a year choose to buy a new home? Research by the New Homes Marketing Board, to tie in with New Homes Month , has tried to find out why.
The main reason is that – the research says – many buyers love a home that’s untouched by other people’s designs, lifestyle or dirt – so ‘untouched, new and fresh’.
Next, buyers also feel that new homes are priced to sell and so negotiation the final price is easier and there are more deals available, including moving-in incentives such as ‘stamp duty paid’.
But as green concerns heighten among homeowners, a new property’s energy efficiency when compared to older homes is also becoming a selling point – something that, ten years ago, was mentioned less in new homes brochures.
One surprising attraction of new builds is that they come with factory-fresh kitchens and bathrooms, rooms that buyers of older homes often have to redecorate after they’ve moved in.
“The economic downturn has brought new home prices in line with the second-hand market, so there is not even a ‘brand new’ premium any more – despite the fact that new homes are packed with lots more extra features than most older ones,” says David Pretty of the New Homes Marketing Board.
The property market is like no other in one, unique way – most people buy second-hand. For example, there are over 4.5 million Victorian and Edwardian properties in the UK, many of which can claim dozens of owners over the past 160 years. And they remain popular despite the downturn - 150,000 will be bought and sold this year alone.
And the rest of Britain’s 21 million second-hand homes hail from the many other property booms Britain has witnessed including medieval, Georgian, Elizabethan and more recently during the 50s, 60s and 70s.
The main reason is that – the research says – many buyers love a home that’s untouched by other people’s designs, lifestyle or dirt – so ‘untouched, new and fresh’.
Next, buyers also feel that new homes are priced to sell and so negotiation the final price is easier and there are more deals available, including moving-in incentives such as ‘stamp duty paid’.
But as green concerns heighten among homeowners, a new property’s energy efficiency when compared to older homes is also becoming a selling point – something that, ten years ago, was mentioned less in new homes brochures.
One surprising attraction of new builds is that they come with factory-fresh kitchens and bathrooms, rooms that buyers of older homes often have to redecorate after they’ve moved in.
“The economic downturn has brought new home prices in line with the second-hand market, so there is not even a ‘brand new’ premium any more – despite the fact that new homes are packed with lots more extra features than most older ones,” says David Pretty of the New Homes Marketing Board.
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