Searching for a new build is not the same as searching for a second-hand home. The plot you see may not be finished, the price can depend on the phase and the incentive on offer, and the seller is a developer with its own sales team, not a family selling a house. The search itself is simple. It goes better when you decide a few things first and know which parts of a listing to read closely.
Start with the number you can actually spend
Work backwards from your deposit and what a lender will offer, then subtract the costs that sit on top of the price. In England and Northern Ireland that includes Stamp Duty Land Tax, which is charged on slices of the price, plus legal fees and moving costs. Try the figure for your price range before you fall for a plot that is right on your limit.
A developer offer can change the sum, but it should not be what sets your budget. A contribution towards your stamp duty or deposit is only worth having on a home you would want at that price anyway. Our guides on stamp duty paid by the developer and deposit contributions explain how those offers work and what to ask.
Choose the area, then look at what is planned around it
New developments are often built on the edge of a town, and the surroundings change while the site is built. Before you shortlist, look up the planning history for the site and the land beside it. Every local planning authority publishes its applications, and GOV.UK has a route to find yours. You are looking for later phases, new roads, shops and schools that are promised, and anything that might be built next to the plot you like.
The New Homes Quality Code expects a developer to tell your solicitor about future phases and about facilities it may build or pay for, before you reserve. That is the formal version of the question you should ask at the sales centre: what is being built around this home, and when?
Know what you are looking at: finished, nearly finished, or off-plan
A listing can be for a home you can walk through, one that is half built, or one that exists only as a drawing and a show home. Completion can be months away in the second and third cases, so check the date you would be able to move in, and whether your mortgage offer will still be valid then. Mortgage offers do not last forever.
On price, ask how long the quoted figure is valid. Under the Code, a reservation agreement should state the purchase price and how long the price and the agreement last. Prices on later plots in a phase often move as the phase sells, so a number you saw on a website in March may not be the number in the reservation agreement in June.
Use filters for what you care about, then for what the developer is offering
Begin with the basics: type of home, number of bedrooms, price and place. Then narrow by what affects your costs and your day-to-day life: whether there is parking, a garden, a heat pump or solar panels, and how soon the home is ready. On Earlybird you can also filter by incentive, such as stamp duty paid, a deposit contribution, part exchange, legal fees paid or upgrades included, and see homes that have had a price reduction.
Keep two lists. One is the homes that suit you on their own merits. The other is the homes with an incentive attached. The overlap between them is where an offer is real value. A good incentive on a home you would not choose is just a discount on the wrong house.
Read the listing the way a solicitor would
Look for the tenure first. A house is usually freehold, a flat is usually leasehold, and either can come with charges for shared areas, roads or a management company. Ask what the yearly costs are and how they can change. The Code requires developers to give an estimated cost schedule covering the first five years, including any ground rent and management charges, so ask for it early rather than at the exchange stage.
Then check what is included in the price. A new home can come with flooring, appliances and landscaping, or with none of them. The Code requires a list of fixtures and fittings that are included, and a confirmation that the home matches the specification that was advertised. Compare that list, home by home, rather than comparing bedrooms and prices alone.
Shortlist, check the developer, then book a viewing
Once you have three or four plots, check each developer before you spend time on a viewing. See whether it is on the Register of Developers kept by the New Homes Quality Board and when its registration began, and ask which warranty provider covers the home. Our guide on how to vet a new build property goes through the full check.
When you go to a viewing, ask to see the actual plot or one that is as close to finished as possible, not only the show home. Show homes are staged and often carry upgrades the plot you are buying does not include. You can request a viewing straight from the listing on Earlybird.
What to know
- Fix your real budget first, including stamp duty and legal costs, then look at incentives.
- Check the planning history around a site. Later phases and new roads can change what you are buying into.
- Ask how long a quoted price is valid and when you could move in. Prices and dates move on new developments.
- Compare tenure, yearly charges and the list of included fittings, not only bedrooms and price.
- Check the developer and the warranty before you book a viewing, and ask to see the actual plot.
Questions to ask the developer
- How long is this price valid, and what is the earliest date I could complete?
- What is planned on the land around this plot, and in later phases?
- What are the estimated yearly management and other charges for the next five years?
- Which fittings, floors and appliances are included in the price?
- Which warranty provider covers this home, and is the developer registered with the New Homes Quality Board?
Sources
General information only, not financial or legal advice. Rules and offers change, so check the sources and your own adviser before you rely on a figure.