New builds - love or loathe?

[CharlotteSometimes2020]

I currently live in a 5 bed new build.
Everyone that visits says how lovely it is etc
And it is nice and practical- double garage, etc
But I hate it!
I can't put my finger on it. I crave a normal street.
With New builds I always find they are on 'estates'. Everyone knows everyone's business, parking always a nightmare. I feel I'm surrounded by houses.
The only good thing is that with new builds is that you can make friends easy because everyone is 'new' to the neighbourhood.
What's other people's opinions about New builds vs old houses?

Also our bills are ridiculously low! In a mild autumn like this so far, we have barely had the heating on & our water bill averages at £19 pm.

The house stays warm in winter and really cool in summer.

I am in the process of buying a new build. It is on a small semi-circle with 3 other houses. It is not soulless - and certainly won't be when I have finished with it.

I am looking forward to leaving the endless sage of maintenance jobs, both big and small, that plague my life.

Loathe. Too peopley and appallingly built. Certainly wouldn't buy anything built in the last five years with someone else's money.

We've had two and absolutely love them, but agree that the estate set up can be a bit odd!

Some new builds are amazing. The problem is all the big estates thrown up really fast to low standards and poor planning decisions.

It's annoying, because there's no reason why we couldn't be building decent, affordable housing.

We live in a newish house, but we're about to buy an old house with no parking because we love the location. I know loads of people that wouldn't want to do that. It's such a personal thing.

Can't please everyone!

Each to their own of course, but personally I could never live in a modern property. I just love old houses!

I have a 1930s house and I'm so glad we went for this. The size of it is exactly the same as a new build (but it cost us half the price). The feel of the build just feels much sturdier (solid walls, nice large windows etc, space for 3-4 cars on driveway)

The only reason I do like new builds is that everything's ready to move straight in, everything feels fresh and hotel-like. Whereas we obviously had to spend money to do work on the house.

I don't think I would ever buy a new build in future..maybe from a small local developer, not the big companies as I really don't find them personable or value for money.

I don't like new builds and would never buy one. They have absolutely no character. Most of them seem to be overlooked by multiple neighbours because the builder just wants to cram as many in as possible. If you're lucky you get a garage that isn't wide enough to put a car in and parking for one car but most families own at least two cars so ppl abandon them everywhere. On a build of say one hundred houses there'll be about five or six different models so you just end up with carbon copies of each house everywhere

They’re not for me, but then again, many people would probably not consider my large, square rooms, high ceilings and elegant stairs an adequate trade-off for the fact that I’m dealing with 160 years of other people’s bodge jobs.

I love our new build because it's built very well. We can't hear a single thing from next door and they've told us that they've never heard anything including our dog barking. In older houses (1900 and 1960s) i've always been able to hear neighbours to some extent.

I love the idea of everything being fresh and new and clean and that nobody has lived there before. However the standard of new build estates is shocking and the parking and road layouts are usually awful. And the gardens and rooms are often tiny compared to older houses.

I have lived in
Edwardian terrace. All looked the same, fuck all parking. Noisy neighbours and back kitchens that looked directly into each other.
1970s estate 500 houses of about 6 types. Masses of green space. 3 bed semi. Never heard a thing from the neighbours.
1980s detached on outskirts of above estate. Terribly built. Literally.
Now 2005 house in a road of 40 houses. All quite alike. Plenty of parking. Actually properly built with insulation and Every thing.

I'm in a year old new build and it's my dream come true to live in one. Fresh, clean, warm, well insulated from neighbour noise. Love it.

I live in an estate type setup (with older houses not new builds) but it is gated off from the rest so feels more exclusive and private. Many of my friends live in new builds and I don't like how close the houses are to each other, it feels like you have no privacy, not to mention the streets are too narrow to park on if your driveway is full.

Just bought a fairly new build (13 years old now) but it's on a through road rather than the twisty parking nightmare cul de sacs with twee road names

I'd love an older house, about 1930's, I grew up in one and my first house was built in 1929 but I now live in a new build, that's what dh wanted, as he was moving towns to be with me I agreed. I like my house and really don't want to move until retirement but if I had my time again I wouldn't move here.

After spending the last 15 years living in a money pit a newbuild definitely has it's attractions.
I now live in a 1990s cottage style house that looks out on all of the 300 year old cottages in this village so I get the lovely views but also the modern boiler and double glazing. Win-win.

Depends. I'm sure there are some individual modern properties that are appealing.
But generally the new builds on estates, typically a 10 min drive out of town are soulless and tacky.

We had a Victorian semi that we extended and oh my goodness, I loved the quirkiness and it’s look but the maintenance and problems we had! I was ready to leave.
Looked at a new build out of interest, thinking it wasn’t our thing but it’s where we now live.
Love the size of the rooms, the light, the low maintenance. Just so much space. OH takes the p about how anytime we do something to a room I say doesn’t it feel bigger?! Like I’m always amazed at how well the space works!
First Christmas here and can’t wait. Although no fireplace for Father Christmas!
Wouldn’t be what I was after in my 20s but with our little ones and wanting a slower pace it’s perfect! Can just step out into fields and no worries about busy roads anymore either.
Guess it depends on the development though as there were others we looked at to compare and we weren’t feeling it.

@BrizNiz

I really hate these snobby threads about new build houses....

It's not snobby at all. I live in one and have done for 5 years. I have made the post so I can discuss the good and bad about them. You don't have to join in the discussion.

@PigsInHeaven

They’re not for me, but then again, many people would probably not consider my large, square rooms, high ceilings and elegant stairs an adequate trade-off for the fact that I’m dealing with 160 years of other people’s bodge jobs.

This is very true. We have a double garage that we had to knock the door wall through because we couldn't fit a car in it.

As others have said the house is always lovely and warm which I love.

I'm hoping to get a new build Housing Association house & I can't wait to move in to a house that hasn't got someone else's bodged DIY & decorating, a blank canvas to be able to put my own stamp on. The newest social housing before these houses near me are 50 years old & even the ones that have been bought & renovated look tired, they still look like council houses no matter how much money has been spent on them, I bought one as my first house & spent a fortune on it only for it to not look any different. The new ones aren't in a massive estate, they are mixed in with private new builds on estates of no more than 125 houses instead of 4000 houses on the one I currently live in & built on pockets of land in established neighbourhoods, are light, well insulated, energy efficient, have level access & each house has at least 2 parking spaces instead of fighting to find somewhere to park your car. They are also well placed for shops, public transport, doctors & schools.

Don’t like new builds. It’s the squareness. I like a few wonky angles.

Just about to move into a new build. While the day we move in it will be 'square rooms and white walls / no character but lots of colour and smart ideas will make it warm, characterful and cosy. Lots of safe space for my kids to cycle and neighbours who want to make a community. In fact there is a Xmas lights switching on on Saturday.

I don't like them much, a bit too soulless and small generally. My friend has one and they are big houses but all shoved together, the plot size is miniscule so parking is a nightmare and you feel very overlooked. They tried to sell it in the summer and had hardly any viewings. Round here it seems that when you sell a new build you may well have to sell it for less than you bought it, that's reason enough to never buy one.