Revealed: what UK homebuyers look for in a new-build

Research from Stone Real Estate, the new home specialists, has revealed the top features UK homebuyers value when purchasing a new-build.

The research, which was carried out by the independent market research facility Cision, suggested that buyers still favour traditional property features over amenities such as top of the range appliances or a concierge.

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The research showed that:

• The most in-demand feature was a private or shared green space, apart from in London, where the close proximity of a good transport link topped the table (31%)
• A car parking space ranked as the second most important factor nationally (21%), followed by the availability of amenities within the development (13%), with a close transport link ranking fourth (12%). Top of the range appliances were lower in ranking (5%).
• High-speed internet (7%) and a good school catchment (6%) were also important.
• Parking ranked third in the capital (11%), amenities within the development was the fourth most important feature (8%) and the property coming with new appliances (7%), a good school catchment (5%) and the developer covering stamp duty also ranking highly (5%).

Michael Stone, the founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, said, “We’ve seen a great shift in the new-build sector whereby developers are placing more focus on the lifestyle and well-being of new-build buyers, providing spaces for them to work, relax, stay fit and socialise, with an emphasis on convenience.

“As a result, buyers are now searching for the right lifestyle fit for them and not just the right property, and this level of innovation by developers in order to remain competitive and stand out from the crowd has resulted in homebuyers getting much, much more for their money.

“However, while these additional features are great, this research demonstrates that first and foremost, buyers are looking for the core factors in a development such as good transport links, green space, nearby amenities and car parking availability. These traditional factors should act as the backbone of all new-build developments to which a developer can hang the bells and whistles of a concierge service, an aftercare team and so on.”