The latest New-Build Demand Index by Ceres Property has shown that, while some major cities have seen a considerable increase in buyer appetite, overall demand for new build homes has fallen year-on-year.
The New-Build Demand Index by Ceres Property monitors homebuyer demand for new build homes across 20 major cities in Britain on a quarterly basis. Current demand is based on the proportion of stock listed as already sold (sold subject to contract or under offer) as a percentage of all stock listed for sale.
The latest index for Q1 2025 shows that across Britain as a whole, almost a fifth of all new homes listed for sale across the market in Q1 had found a buyer (18.4%).
This represents a marginal reduction in demand of -0.7% when compared to Q1 2024, however, a number of major cities have seen new build homebuyer appetites increase on an annual basis.
Aberdeen saw the highest improvement in demand in Q1 2025, up 14.3% on the previous year. Edinburgh and Glasgow saw the next best improvements in demand, up 4.1% and 3.6% respectively.
Outside of Scotland, Manchester had the largest increase, up 3.2% year-on-year. Nottingham and Leicester also saw improvements with 1.9% and 1.5%.
However, the rest of the cities in Ceres Property’s New-Build Demand Index saw demand fall from Q1 2024.
The South coast saw the biggest drop in demand year-on-year, with Portsmouth seeing a decrease of 15.8% and Southampton falling by 15.5%. Bournemouth also saw demand fall by 13.9%.
London saw demand down 3% on the previous year, while other major cities such as Birmingham (-6.7%), Leeds (-5.3%) and Bristol (-5.7%) also saw a reduction.
While the average UK demand for new builds stands at 18.4%, several major cities recorded greater demand over the quarter. Despite demand falling year-on-year, Southampton still recorded the highest of any participating city with nearly 3 in 10 new build homes currently listed for sale having found a buyer (29.1%). Sheffield and Bournemouth both saw demand in Q1 of 22.4%, while Newport and Bristol both recorded 21.2%.
Iain Halls, partner at Ceres Property, commented: “Our gauge of new-build homebuyer demand suggests that the appetite for new homes has remained largely consistent throughout the first three months of the year when compared to the same period in 2024.”
“Of course, buyer activity does fluctuate when analysing the market on a more granular level, however, across a number of major cities there has been an increase in the number of new build homes securing a buyer so far this year.”
“The impending stamp duty deadline has almost certainly played a part and it’s likely that many buyers will be sitting tight until the dust has settled. However, with the expectation of further improvements to mortgage affordability levels over the coming months, 2025 is looking to be an even more positive year for the new homes sector and we expect to see demand for new-build properties climb as the year progresses.”
