New homebuyers hit with over 1.6 million snagging issues

The latest research from Warwick Estates shows that so far this year the number of snagging issues across new homes is already estimated to exceed the one million mark.

It’s estimated that the average new-build home comes with 157 snagging issues and with 10,743 new homes sold so far in 2021 across England, that’s already a huge 1.6m snagging issues new-build homebuyers are having to deal with.

The South East is the current snagging hotspot with 2,033 new-build sales in 2021 meaning an estimated 319,207 property defects.

With 1,916 new homes sold in London, the capital’s new-build homebuyers are also estimated to have seen over 300,000 snagging defects across their properties, with the number of snags across the South West (197454) and East of England (188,243) also estimated to be close to 200,000.

Even in the North East, where just 427 new homes have been sold this year, the estimated number of defects sits at a hefty 67,065.

COO of Warwick Estates, Bethan Griffiths, commented: “An average snagging list of 157 defects may sound unbelievable but that really is the extent of the issues found by many new-build homebuyers and these can range from very minor aesthetic issues, to far more serious problems such as structural issues. But it’s unfair to say that housebuilders are purposely cutting corners and actually, the issue is the sheer demand for new housing and the incredible speed at which they are expected to deliver it to the market.”