Scotland and London lead the way for new build property sales
Story by
July 7, 2021
The latest research from HouseScan has revealed that just 6.9% of all homes sold in Britain over the last year came via the new build sector, however, new build sales have driven the market to a greater extent across a number of locations.
Since March of last year, 54,176 new build homes have been sold across Britain, accounting for 6.9% of all transactions during this period.
Scotland has seen the greatest level of new builds sold as a proportion of total transactions, with 9.3% of all homes sold in the last 12 months coming via the sector.
London has also seen some of the largest levels of transactions come via new build homes (8.8%), with the East Midlands (7.2%), West Midlands (7%), North East (6.9%) and South East (6.5%) also sitting above the national average.
At local authority level, Scotland and London continue to rank with some of the highest levels of new build sales.
Tower Hamlets has seen the most new build homes sold as a percentage of all transactions across Britain over the last year. The 991 new homes sold since March 2020 equate to 39.9% of all properties sold in the borough, closely followed by Newham where 33.4% of all transactions have been new builds.
Scotland’s East Lothian (25.2%) and Midlothian (21.4%) also rank within the top five, along with Harborough in Leicestershire (20.9%).
Greenwich (20.8%), Rugby (19.1%), South Derbyshire (18.5%), Hackney (17.6%) and Bracknell Forest (16.8%) also rank as some of the hottest spots for new build sales in the last year.
Founder and Managing Director of HouseScan, Harry Yates, commented: “It seems as though Scotland is fast becoming Britain’s new build hotspot, with more transactions coming via the sector than anywhere else in the nation – including London. This demand has caused new build house price growth north of the border to climb considerably and although a buoyant new build market is unlikely to ease the pain of an early Euros exit, it’s certainly helping to lay some strong foundations for future generations of homebuyers.”
| Table shows new build transactions over the last 12 months as what percentage of total transactions they account for | ||
| Location | New build sales volume | NB sales vol as % of all |
| Scotland | 8,432 | 9.3% |
| London | 6,337 | 8.8% |
| East Midlands | 4,383 | 7.2% |
| East of England | 5,621 | 7.0% |
| West Midlands Region | 4,457 | 7.0% |
| North East | 2,188 | 6.9% |
| South East | 7,913 | 6.5% |
| North West | 5,323 | 6.0% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3,910 | 5.8% |
| South West | 4,545 | 5.7% |
| Wales | 1,067 | 3.2% |
| England | 44,677 | 6.7% |
| Great Britain | 54,176 | 6.9% |
| New build sales volumes sourced from the Gov.uk UK House Price Index – New build vs Existing (March 2020 to Feb 2021 – latest available data) | ||
| Table shows the areas to have seen the largest number of new build transactions as a percentage of all transactions in the last 12 months | ||
| Location | New build sales volume | NB sales vol as % of all |
| Tower Hamlets | 991 | 39.9% |
| Newham | 584 | 33.4% |
| East Lothian | 526 | 25.2% |
| Midlothian | 365 | 21.4% |
| Harborough | 331 | 20.9% |
| Greenwich | 512 | 20.8% |
| Rugby | 309 | 19.1% |
| South Derbyshire | 297 | 18.5% |
| Hackney | 291 | 17.6% |
| Bracknell Forest | 293 | 16.8% |
| Wokingham | 392 | 16.8% |
| West Lothian | 479 | 15.9% |
| City of Peterborough | 354 | 15.3% |
| Central Bedfordshire | 665 | 15.2% |
| Stratford-on-Avon | 286 | 14.8% |
| New build sales volumes sourced from the Gov.uk UK House Price Index – New build vs Existing (March 2020 to Feb 2021 – latest available data) | ||
