A new sentiment survey by Knight Frank reveals a shift in housing preferences, with one-fifth of respondents expressing an interest in purchasing a new home.
This marks an increase from the 13% recorded in the three preceding years.
The agency says eco-efficiency has become a crucial factor with 60% of buyers citing it as their primary reason for choosing a new build. This trend is driven by the desire to reduce winter heating costs and mitigate the effects of increasingly frequent summer heatwaves.
A Knight Frank spokesperson says: “Energy efficient new homes are on the rise, with the number of new homes awarded top EPC A grade hitting a record high in the second quarter of this year.
“We are now seeing an uptick in demand for these homes, with our survey showing the first notable shift in over three years. This trend has longer to run as more buyers are also taking note of future environmental regulations and planning ahead."
The survey also found an increase in the proportion of respondents who do not want to install energy improvements themselves. This has increased from a fifth two years ago to nearly 30% today, pointing to the rising convenience of new homes.
Knight Frank claims 25% of respondents cited future environmental regulations as a key consideration in their decision-making process, up from 20% two years ago.
The agency adds that developers are needing to include as many energy efficient features as they can for what it calls “discerning buyers … looking at the long term to their choice of home and are looking to take advantage of these opportunities."
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More climate change drivel
We could do with a bit of global warming , July and it’s raining … as usual
There are two main reasons I would never buy a new build:
1. Build quality
2. Space
New homes are often poorly built with little or no hope of getting builders to correct faults after you have bought with reduced room sizes, small gardens & a lack of parking.
Older houses are built more solidly on more generous plots & are simply better places to live.
Tricia: Good post, totally agree. I wouldn’t touch a U.K. new build. The Victorians knew how to build houses and the house building rot really set in in the 60’s and continues today.
May I also add the awful and expensive… Estate Rent 😱💰😱, a never ending (escalating) demand for your money, by others, for land you do not own and have no control of.
Third reason Tricia
New build developments tend to be miles away from any amenities causing many fuel guzzling short journeys.
I wonder how eco friendly new builds actually are?
Agreed poorly built with a life span of maybe 30 yrs
It's probably the only reason to buy a new build, in general they are better insulated than older homes. They will probably be overpriced, poorly built and the chances of getting the estate actually finished and landscaped as per the planning permission are small. I have noticed that younger people don't like anything which isn't new, so they have to have new furniture, new car , new phone etc etc.
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