According to house-builder Barratt Developments, there has been an increase in the number of home buyers buying houses before they are built.
Off-plan house buying dropped in popularity after but-to-let investors lost money during the housing crash. They bought homes off-plan only to find their values had plummeted by the time they were built. However, it looks like the activity may be becoming popular again, according to Barratt’s figures for January.
The developer says off-plan sales are up by 43 per cent on the same period last year at £651.2 million. It says that the shortage of existing homes on sale has boosted the off-plan market.
Mark Clare, chief executive of Barratt Developments, says the shortage of existing new homes for sale is particularly notable in London. “If you want to buy a new home in London, you probably have to buy in advance,” he explains.
Many online home buying sites have reported a huge increase in visitors to their sites in light of the recent bad weather – preventing people from visiting houses they want to buy. In addition they claim that their stock levels have fallen drastically, leading to an increase in house prices once again in January.