Builders spotlight thebenefit of new homes

The New Homes Month campaign, running until October 3, stresses the key advantages of buying brand new: lower energy bills, less hassle in the absence of a chain of buyers, lower maintenance costs and the chance to stamp your personality on a home where nobody has lived before.

Another attraction is that the premium for buying new has been squeezed in the recession. Price per square foot might be pretty close to the cost of second-hand property.

New Homes Marketing Board chairman David Pretty said: “Today’s new homes really are green homes, built to the latest environmental standards and extremely energy efficient, packed with highly efficient heating systems, double glazed doors and windows, plus high levels of roof, floor and wall insulation.

“Clearly with energy prices as they are, this is a huge benefit to purchasers of new homes, having the potential to save hundreds of pounds a year.

“It’s one of the many reasons we urge people to get down to their local sites and showhomes during New Homes Month to see for themselves the benefits of buying new.”

Although lower energy bills are a big bonus for any homeowner, latest statistics on new home completions suggest an even stronger reason to talk to a builder this month: sales are running at such low levels that many will be very keen indeed to clinch a deal.

Weekly figures compiled by the Home Builders Federation, which represents 300 member firms producing 80 per cent of all the new homes built in England and Wales, and leaked to the Financial Times suggest the number of reservations for new homes being made has fallen “to the lowest level on record” and even below levels recorded in 2008.

In the five weeks up to late August, total net reservations stood at 3,353, five per cent lower than the 2008 housing market, and 22 per cent below the level recorded in August 2009, when house prices were recovering strongly.

With the latest Nationwide Building Society analysis also indicating a monthly fall in house prices, many potential buyers will be deciding to sit on their hands until the new year and perhaps to go ahead with a purchase then, if things haven’t got much worse.

All this would seem to suggest that buyers prepared to go ahead now will get a pretty cordial reception if they visit a showhouse.

This year, says the National House-Building Council (NHBC) which registers new home starts, the level of new building is picking up slightly: in the quarter to the end of July, NHBC received nearly 31,000 registrations to build a new home, 30 per cent up on the same period in 2009.

Imtiaz Farookhi, NHBC chief executive, says: “We know the UK needs more homes and it is vital that somehow the industry is able to deliver those needs.

“The coming months will be crucial as we head towards the Chancellor’s spending review and the very important autumn sales season for the housing market.”