New builds will drive residential property market revival

Beth Heley is residential property associate at Royds Withy King

As the residential property market reopens it will be new builds that drive the market and lead its revival.

Here are six reasons why:

Resi Revival 1 – off-plan take off

Many new build sales are agreed off-plan with buyers not always viewing the physical property they are buying, perhaps relying on a visit to a show home before the lockdown, online brochures, virtual models, computerised images and other technology.

Resi Revival 2 – phased release

New build developments are often highly anticipated, with interested buyers’ already having decided on their preferred scheme. They will have done their research early in the year on the area on pricing and house types and will be ready to go.

Resi Revival 3 – mortgage valuations

New build mortgage valuations are not necessarily based on the finished home as it will still be under construction, but on comparable homes and market data. This means buyers will have mortgage offers ready to go, speeding up the sale process.

Resi Revival 4 – move-in ready

Completion on a new build property has the added benefit that no one has lived at the property leaving less cause for concern on COVID-19 contamination and the need for deep cleaning, giving buyers, and particularly those with children, peace of mind.

Resi Revival 5 – rental investors

New build properties are attractive as rental units as they require little to zero finishing work before tenants can move in and are low maintenance to look after.

Overseas investors are likely to play a key role on driving sales and injecting cash into the property market.

Resi Revival 6 – Help to Buy mark 2.

The existing Help to Buy scheme is due to end in March 2021 and will be replaced with the new scheme available only to first-time buyers.

There is still time for deals to be agreed with Help to Buy finance under the current scheme, with FTBs secure that help will be there when it is needed.