New-build supply and demand levels drop but Southampton remains the ‘demand hotspot’

Homebuyer appetites for new-build properties have dipped by -1.1% while stock levels have fallen by -0.7%, according to data.

easyMoney’s New-build Sector Review is a quarterly review of supply and demand within the sector, looking at buyer appetite for new-build homes alongside the level of supply being brought to the market by developers in 20 major British cities.

The latest figures for Q4 of last year* show that 17.4% of new-build homes listed for sale across Britain’s major cities had already found a buyer, marking a decline of -1.1% on an annual basis.

Southampton was the city with the highest level of new-build buyer demand, where 38.8% of properties had already been snapped up. Demand was also impressively high in Bournemouth (38.5%), Bristol (27.2%), and Portsmouth (25.7%)

However, it was Cardiff where buyer appetite for new-builds saw the largest annual jump, up +6.3% on the year, followed by Southampton at +6%. In contrast, Swansea has seen the biggest drop in demand of all 20 cities analysed by easyMoney, with demand down -21.5% year on year.

The latest figures from easyMoney found that new-build stock levels had also fallen during the final quarter of 2023. Total new-build stock accounted for 7.4% of all market listings, marking an annual supply drop of -0.7%.

The nation’s strongest new-build stock supply was found in Liverpool (14.7%), followed by Manchester (13.7%), Edinburgh (9.9%), Aberdeen (8.8%), and Leeds (7.1%).

As for change in stock levels, Swansea and Southampton had seen the largest annual increase with both cities recorded growth of 1.6% – no doubt a contributing factor behind the sharp rise in demand seen across both cities.

Liverpool (1.5%) was the only other city to have seen an increase over the past year, while stock supply in Bournemouth remained static (0.0%), with every other city seeing supply levels drops. The biggest stock reduction was recorded in Birmingham (-4.5%). Jason Ferrando, CEO of easyMoney said:

“It’s clear that Britain’s housebuilders and developers have been keeping their cards close to their chest over the last year in the face of widespread economic uncertainty. But despite the market cooling due to higher interest rates dampening buyer demand, it’s clear that demand for new-build homes remains strong and, in fact, in those cities where stock supply did increase, so too did buyer demand levels.

As market conditions continue to improve in 2024, we fully expect buyer appetite to increase further and this should help tempt developers into bringing more stock to market.”