Research reveals where the greatest degree of new housing stock is being created
Current property market conditions have made it more difficult for aspiring homeowners to get on the ladder. However, those who want the best chance of snagging a new build home may have to consider living in South Derbyshire.
Analysis of data on new builds completed over the past decade has revealed that across South Derbyshire, properties built in the past 10 years make up 17% of overall housing stock – much higher than the English average of 6%.
The research from development site sourcing specialists Searchland has also listed other areas with a plentiful supply of new property such as Harborough in Leicestershire and Dartford in Kent, both with 14.9% of the housing stock. Stratford-upon-Avon, a medieval market town known as the birthplace of William Shakespeare, is also an area with many new homes, making up 14.8% of the total.
Searchland noted that in other regions, new builds are having less of an impact, which could be due to a lack of space, political initiative, and nimbyism from existing homeowners.
Places where new build completions make up the lowest percentage of stock in England are Brighton and Hove (1.2%), Adur in West Sussex (1.4%), and Kingston upon Thames in southwest London (1.5%).
In terms of volume, Wiltshire, an area known for the prehistoric Stonehenge monument, has produced the most new build dwellings in the past decade across England, with around 22,100 new homes built in the local authority area in the past 10 years, bolstering its overall stock to 228,000.
It was followed by North Yorkshire, increasing its stock by 21,300 to 302,500, and Somerset, which added 20,540 homes to bring its total to 267,400.
Areas with the lowest number of new builds include the City of London (350), the Sussex local authority district of Adur (390), and the seaside town of Hastings (690).
“It takes time to build up new communities, but areas like South Derbyshire, Harborough, and Dartford are racing to prominence with a raft of new properties,” commented Mitchell Fasanya, co-founder and chief executive of Searchland.
“At the other end of the spectrum are areas like Brighton, where just 1.2% of its stock is less than 10 years old. Clearly more needs to be done to build homes in these places, as without new stock, there’s more of a likelihood that demand will run away from supply and make areas more expensive.
“Depending on the types of homes being built, they can enhance a region with new architecture that sits neatly alongside historic infrastructure. That’s clearly the view that’s being taken in Stratford-upon-Avon, which demonstrates that new and old properties can coexist, bringing more residents and economic activity to an area.”
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