The average price of a new home is now £231,304, after rising 1.9% in the first three months of this year, and by 5.9% over the past year.
By contrast, the average price of a home in England and Wales is now £160,372, according to the latest Land Registry data, and is 0.6% down on a year ago.
Steven Lees, director of website SmartNewHomes, which released the figure for March, said: “House builders have reported a strong start to the year, with unwavering demand from buyers, and this is reflected in the strength of new-homes prices
.“The launch of NewBuy and the NPPF in the first quarter of the year have contributed to positive market sentiment, and the announcement from HSBC that they are increasing their maximum loan-to-value on new-build properties is further evidence of this faith in new homes.
“We are hopeful that many more lenders will follow suit in the coming weeks.“Reports of a double-dip recession from the Office of National Statistics could take some of the wind out of the property market’s sails.
“However, developers continue to offer an array of innovative deals and incentives to keep new homes affordable for buyers, and we expect demand to continue to underpin prices this year as the shortage continues.”
David Sansome, Managing Director of Sansome & George said: “The price of the average new home has traditionally been higher than the equivalent second hand property and continuing low volumes of new home starts across the country potentially makes prices subject to greater distortion.
The real issue for the new homes market is one of volume and it is to be hoped that these positive pricing figures may see more developers start building schemes on the large amounts of land they currently hold in abeyance awaiting the right economic climate in which to proceed.”
