The average asking price for a new home in the UK in
March was £231,304, an increase of 0.8% over the month and 1.9% in the
first quarter of the year, the latest SmartNewHomes index shows.
Annual price growth stood at 5.9% in March. That means that the average
price of a new home is now £12,960 more than at the same time last year.
The new homes market continues to show long term price stability. New
homes are on average £5,635 lower than in the wider market.
Eight of the 11 regions covered by the index recorded positive monthly
growth in March. The South East and Greater London also recorded strong
growth over three months and on an annual basis with the former seeing
3.1% and 4.4% rises respectively and Greater London 4.6% and 8.1%
respectively.
Beyond this part of the UK, price growth is less consistent with average
prices down 8.3% over 12 months in the North East and up 0.4% in the same
period in Yorkshire and Humberside.
The number of new homes coming onto the market continues to climb,
bringing greater choice to new home buyers. Annual growth in new homes
added stood at 73.5% in March.
However, the volumes are still woefully short of the number of new homes
required to meet demand, with London Mayor Boris Johnson acknowledging the
need to build tens of thousands more in the capital.
‘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,’ said Steven Lees, director of SmartNewHomes.
‘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 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,’ he
explained.
‘Reports of a double dip recession from the Office of National Statistics
(ONS) 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,’ he
added.
