New build homebuyer activity is expected to spike, new research revealed on Tuesday.
A new study by Stone Real Estate revealed that the level of new build properties being sold increases as we approach the December period.
This contrasts sales across the regular market, which drop in the run-up to the festive season.
The figures show that on average, and over the last five years, the number of new build transactions in the month of December makes up 11.9% of total new build transactions across the year.
Additionally, December appears to be the only other month – along with June – where new build sales reach double-digits as a percentage of total yearly sales.
Another trend identified by the research is that the number of new-build sales drops after June, slowly gaining momentum again as the festive period approaches.
“The new build sector doesn’t come under the same seasonal strain when it comes to sales transactions when compared to the existing sector,” Founder and CEO of Stone Real Estate, Michael Stone, commented on the findings.
“This is largely because new build sales involve one buyer and on the other side of the coin you have a professional entity that continues to work right up until the Christmas break to get a sale over the line,” the Founder and CEO continued.
Michael Stone said: “This should be the case with any good estate agent, however, as there is no lengthy chain to deal with or any of the other complications that can come with an existing property sale, the process is all the quicker. As a result, when the December rush to complete before or just after Christmas hits, the new build sector is much better placed to facilitate a greater number of sales despite the shorter time frame.”
“One common misconception is that Christmas is a great time to find a homebuyer bargain and while true to an extent, historically new build house prices tend to stand firm, and in many cases sit higher than many previous months in the year. That said, developers will often include some festive incentives to persuade homebuyers to take the plunge and this, of course, all helps favourably towards their end of year figures.”