New Homes Week Reveals the Surprising Savings of Buying New
The Home Builders Federation’s New Homes Week
The Home Builders Federation’s (HBF) New Homes Week is upon us and in support of this fantastic campaign, we are going to follow the highlights of the week’s information with a series of short, recapping mini blogs.
Cost of Upgrading a Second Hand Home
Yesterday marked the first day of New Homes Week and it opened with a shocking figure. HBF’s recent research has revealed the cost of upgrading a second-hand home to the standard of a new home.
The estimated cost is an eye-watering £70,000.
This cost is an average based on works being carried out throughout the home, internally and externally but even without upgrading exterior rendering and guttering, renovating a three bedroom semi-detached property will set you back £61,489.30. Add in the rendering and guttering and you find yourself with a hefty bill of £73,271.80.
Most concerning for buyers, arguably, is their perception of what it will cost to upgrade their second hand home. The HBF’s research showed only 5% of potential buyers expected to pay over £70,000.
Plus, as the HBF argues, the cost of upgrading a home is not only monetary. The works to be completed also come with a significant time-frame and often lead to disruption and affect the liveability of the home.
Finally, the cost of any ‘hidden’ problems in a second hand home is not a problem that the buyer of a newbuild will ever encounter. A problem that could increase this already sizable bill.
Energy Efficiency
One of the most cost-effective improvements to newbuild homes versus older properties is their increased energy efficiency.
Many features of their design and building materials allow newer homes to benefit from improved insulation when compared with older properties.
So much so, that, as revealed by recent research by the HBF’s Watt a Save report, 85% of newbuild properties were able to achieve an energy rating of A or B. This was only the case for 4% of older homes.
The estimated energy bill savings for a homeowner of a newbuild compared to the owner of an older home can be as much as £3,100 per year. With the cost of living crisis we are currently facing, this is not a figure that will go unnoticed by potential buyers.
As you can see, buying newbuild can have significant stress and financial savings, as they are purpose built for the modern era. HBF shining a light on the disparity between people's perception of renovation costs and the actual costs, suggests developers could lean into this fact more in their marketing.
