To not understand the appeal of new build homes?

[GreenEyeGopher]

I was looking at the proliferation of new build estates yesterday and wondering who buys homes there.

I don't think I've ever lived in a house that's much less than 100 years old.and would find it hard to imagine living in a new build. Or actually, I could imagine living in a new build home but not on a new estate - somehow they don't feel quite like 'real places' to me, everywhere I've lived has had a long time to get established!

So I'm just curious - if you live in a new build, or would like to - what is the appeal?

We live in a new build, it’s a close of 6 houses so not quite an estate. I don’t know if that changes your judgment or not?

We like living here because it was ready made, all high spec (not a starter home new build), it’s 5 beds. We had a baby a year or two later and didn’t want to spend weekends on a doer upper.
we could entertain from the first few weekends and not spend time on the house.

Have lived here 5 years and plan to for another 5

Where do people live that new build are cheaper to purchase?

I understand that it gets cheaper in maintenance charges, but I am South East, and all the new build come with an impressive premium. A new build with similar amount of rooms is a lot more expensive, a new build with the same square footage is on another level. I wouldn't live in a new build simply because I can't afford to buy one!

Some are hideous: built in the wrong area (floodplains, contaminated lands.. how do they get permit is anyone's guess), they are tiny, no storage and the show room has specially designed furniture extra small to give the illusion of space. Even these are more expensive, and the better designed new houses are just luxury.

You are lucky if you can purchase a cheaper home, it's not the case at all where I am, and it's not just a small premium because it's brand new.

God it sounds awful wouldn’t you be happier in a Victorian terrace?

just kidding it sounds pretty ideal to me

It’s certainly cheaper if you buy off plan but then you sort of have to take the builders word what you’ll end up with. I’m in the south east too (Kent) and the new build vs older houses was pretty much the same cost. Depends on the builder too - the local builder was more willing to do a deal than the national chain

We have a beautiful 1898 rented 4 bed semi- extremely well modernised, lovely chunky radiators, nice bits of colour throughout , beautiful garden and in a lovely area- and as befits it costs a fair bit. but it was a real find-

most older houses we viewed had half done DIY , occasionally damp patches , needed a good decorate and to be honest most could have done with £20k spent on them- and these were advertised as fully renovated. A reasonable kitchen and a few nice shutters really isn't fully renovated. My friend who bought said the same, in the end she bought a doer upper for £85 k less than a 'done up one' but had the work done almost immediately I can see why people go for new , or newish, although I don't like big estates and I don't drive- so anywhere in middle of nowhere isn't good for me.

Ours is 150 years old, lots of character…. but doesn’t have a single straight wall, a wonky kitchen window, 40-50 years of bodged / half arsed DIY jobs, and very, very antiquated plumbing. Sometimes I crave the flat walls and clean lines of a new build 😂

All those programmes where people want character properties. Then they’re shown them and don’t like the low ceiling height/ beams/ small kitchen/ whatever. Then there are the ‘character’ properties that have been made over with supposedly traditional looking kitchens and bathrooms, but are just a disguise for new. If you want an old house, buy an old house and bear in mind the costs for fuel, maintenance, insulation, wear and tear and upkeep. And don’t be snotty about people who like something different.

@originalglazedsingle That's the main thing that surprised me on here. What you describe is similar to our local new build estates. You definitely pay a premium to buy a new build around here. And what reads wonderfully on paper is often not the case when you view it.

One of the ones we viewed was 3.654.32m for the master bedroom. Except that there was an ensuite built into the room so it was actually more like 3.653.2m with a corridor of just over 1m length into the room. It literally fit a king size bed with just enough room to scooch around it, built in wardrobes and two tiny side tables. Our box room in our current house is 2.9*3m...😑

We will still keep considering new builds though. There's a lovely slightly older estate nearby which I'd love to move to. I think it was probably built in the 70's and definitely has the feel of somewhere where the focus was building homes for people rather than cramming in as many houses as possible to maximise profits. It's incredibly rare that they come up for sale though and they get snapped up immediately.

Sorry that shouldn't be bold and should read 3.65x4.32m and 3.65x3.2m

Lesson learnt - don't use * in place of x cause of the MN formatting 😁

I know, what were we thinking!!

Actually couple of others which mattered for us (and relates to question a PP asked about where are they cheaper)

• no chain, so easy purchase
• no offers over/bidding wars. I'm in Scotland so this is a big factor. We viewed an older bungalow just round the corner. About the same floor space, bigger plot, and about 10% cheaper. It actually sold for about 7% more and it needed at least 20% again spent - new windows everywhere, new boiler, new kitchen, take out at least one wall, new, bathrooms etc.

The offers over element is a biggy for people with limited cash/equity here. Our surveyor valuation matched purchase price, none of the neighbours had an issue. With an older property you might get say home report 500k, listed at o/o 450k, sells for 550k. Buyer needs to find required mortgage deposit on 500k(the official value) plus the 50k they went over to secure the property.

South West. The closer you get to Bath, the more the people with money want Georgian or similar.

In the town where I work there are about 5 new build estates which has devalued them. The desirable properties are the Georgians and Victorians in the centre neae the station.

I think there is a myth that old houses were craftsman built. If you look at the amount of housebuilding which went on in the late Victorian/Edwardian era there simply weren't enough craftsmen to go round!

Terraced houses were stamped out of a mould and thrown up in their millions. They weren't quality homes. They were built to the minimum standard the builder could get away with. Just as today but without benefit of building regulations.

They tend to be in cheaper areas of cities and towns, which is more affordable.

That's interesting as in my area the cost of a new build far exceeds that of an equivalent property and the council tax bands are very high, even for flats. I suppose it must depend on the company and area?

My experience of a new build (albeit 10 years old now) is the typical paper walls, shoddy workmanship, showers etc. built with parts on the cusp of becoming obsolete, so when things (fairly quickly) go wrong, it's a pain for a plumber to get hold the right parts.

Perhaps they've improved now, or perhaps in depends on the construction company.

That's interesting as in my area the cost of a new build far exceeds that of an equivalent property and the council tax bands are very high, even for flats. I suppose it must depend on the company and area?

Absolutely, where I grew up you couldn't shake a stick without hitting a Victorian or Georgian house, they were not seen as overly desirable and the new build estates were the desirable more expensive areas. Even today you can get a large (5/6 bedroom) old townhouse in that area for less than £250k.

The town I'm in now isn't as old, but the new build areas are the more desirable areas, it's one of those expansion towns and the area came with new facilities and now well established and performing schools so it's increased their appeal. Lots of landscaped man made outdoor space too, very pretty.

The offers over element is a biggy for people with limited cash/equity here.

I’m in Scotland too and absolutely agree, being able to pay the valuation price without a bidding war is a huge plus.

I just don’t really like the ‘matchy matchy’ aesthetic. But each to their own. I work with a lot of trades who avoid them like the plague because of the build quality but I suppose I can see the appeal for other reasons. Not something I’d buy personally but different strokes for different folks.

Great first time buys, low maintenance, as long as they have been decently built, especially if you are both working ft. My son and girlfriend bought theirs 8 years ago, it has very large rooms, and not one thing has gone wrong. It's a lovely community there too. They are looking to buy a doer upper in the future though.

But Victorian , 1930s , 1920s , Georgian all look samey samey.

I lived in a Victorian terrace as a student, as did many people I knew, and my sister's first (bought) house was one. The damp issues in every single one of those houses would put me off looking at one if we were to buy. There are loads of them left over where I grew up from the days when they were built to house millworkers, and many of them are in poor condition now.

Ceilings. That’s a real positive of period houses. Nice high ceilings, even in small houses.

I think this when people say 'I can't understand why anyone would buy leasehold' - usually it's because that's the option that they can afford, first and foremost, or because they only want a flat and there aren't that many freehold flats out there.

Not necessarily! My neighbourhood is all Victorian 2 up 2 downs with standard ceilings, not high ones, and lots of cottages have low ceilings.

No problem with new builds per se but I would never consider one as I dislike living in close proximity to other people. The lack of privacy in the garden and the neighbour noise would drive me crazy

Do you really not get it or do you want to snark on people who you think make inferior choices to you?

If your really can't think of any reasons I wonder if you normally struggle with thinking? It's really not a difficult one.

Some of my friends love them, personally I don't. It's ok to have a preference.

I agree though, they tend to have loads of small bathrooms, and tiny gardens. Shall family living space and loads of bedrooms. Just silly use of space that wouldn't work for my family.

The worst are the town houses with kitchen and living room on different floors, I'd hate that.

I'd also hate a dark, cold old house though.

My house is 1960s and I find it a happy medium. Bigger rooms and garden, but better insulation.