Oxford

These are the nation's hottest spots for new build property sales

Emma Johnson
Authored by Emma Johnson
Posted: Wednesday, April 7, 2021 - 10:28

Oxfordshire is currently the nation’s new build homebuyer hotspot according to the latest research from new build experts, BuildScan, the snagging and defect management app.

BuildScan analysed the property market across England over the last year, looking at the number of new build transactions completing in each major city and what this equated to as a percentage of all transactions.

The figures show that there were 542,875 homes sold across England in 2020, despite the tougher market conditions caused by Covid. 36,750 of these came via the new build sector, meaning new homes accounted for 6.8% of all transactions.

With 5,147 new build transactions, London saw the highest number of new build homes sold in terms of sheer volume.

However, it is Oxfordshire that ranks as the hottest spot for new build purchases when considering new build transactions as a percentage of all transactions. 945 new homes were sold in Oxfordshire in 2020, 13.5% of the 6,991 homes sold overall.

Bedfordshire also ranked high, with the 842 new build sales to complete in the area accounting for 12.5% of all transactions in 2020.

Warwickshire (11.2%), East Riding of Yorkshire (10.1%) and Northumberland (10%) also placed amongst some of the hottest spots for new-build homebuyers, with the sector accounting for 10% or more of total homes sold.

Leicestershire (9.9%), Berkshire (9.8%), Wiltshire (8.9%), London and Cambridgeshire (8.7%) also placed within the top 10.

In contrast, the Isle of the Wight saw the least new build homebuyer activity in 2020. Just 1.5% of all transactions on the island came via the new build sector, with East Sussex (3%) and Bristol (3.6%) also amongst the lowest.

Founder and Managing Director of BuildScan, Harry Yates, commented:

“2020 was a tough year and this was no different for those working within the new build sector, with the delivery of many developments delayed due to Covid difficulties.

That said, there was a monumental effort in the final quarter of the year to boost the number of homes reaching the market and we expect this to materialise via an increase in new build completions during 2021.

London continues to see the highest volume of new homes transacting but it’s great to see other regional frontrunners leading the way in terms of new build completions as a percentage of all transactions. This shows that there is a real appetite for these developments across the nation and the focus shouldn’t be solely on building in London.”

Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid Data records for residential transactions at £40,000 or above

Residential property transactions completed in each region between Jan and Dec 2020

Location

New Build Transactions

Existing Transactions

ALL Transactions

NB transactions as a % of ALL transactions

NORTH EAST

1,943

24,235

26,178

7.4%

EAST OF ENGLAND

4,660

60,730

65,390

7.1%

EAST MIDLANDS

3,450

46,647

50,097

6.9%

SOUTH EAST

6,388

88,079

94,467

6.8%

NORTH WEST

4,808

69,289

74,097

6.5%

WEST MIDLANDS

3,385

49,555

52,940

6.4%

SOUTH WEST

3,785

61,419

65,204

5.8%

YORKSHIRE AND THE HUMBER

3,184

52,378

55,562

5.7%

ENGLAND

36,750

506,125

542,875

6.8%

Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid Data records for residential transactions at £40,000 or above

 

 

 

 

 

English counties with the highest number of new build transactions as a percentage of all transactions (Jan 202-Dec 2020)

Location

New Build Transactions

Existing Transactions

ALL Transactions

NB transactions as a % of ALL transactions

Oxfordshire

945

6,046

6,991

13.5%

Bedfordshire

842

5,893

6,735

12.5%

Warwickshire

720

5,681

6,401

11.2%

East Riding of Yorkshire

455

4,045

4,500

10.1%

Northumberland

369

3,304

3,673

10.0%

Leicestershire

807

7,338

8,145

9.9%

Berkshire

818

7,549

8,367

9.8%

Wiltshire

470

4,829

5,299

8.9%

Greater London

5,147

53,793

58,940

8.7%

Cambridgeshire

555

5,814

6,369

8.7%

Data sourced from the Land Registry Price Paid Data records for residential transactions at £40,000 or above

 

 

 

 

 

English counties with the lowest number of new build transactions as a percentage of all transactions (Jan 202-Dec 2020)

Location

New Build Transactions

Existing Transactions

ALL Transactions

NB transactions as a % of ALL transactions

Isle of Wight

30

1,992

2,022

1.5%

East Sussex

211

6,737

6,948

3.0%

City of Bristol

162

4,294

4,456

3.6%

Hertfordshire

439

11,189

11,628

3.8%

Surrey

560

12,280

12,840

4.4%

West Midlands (county)

981

20,469

21,450

4.6%

City of London

4

78

82

4.9%

South Yorkshire

631

12,225

12,856

4.9%

West Yorkshire

1,152

21,730

22,882

5.0%

Dorset

247

4,575

4,822

5.1%

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