Offer on new build properties.

We are looking to move and a new build development has caught our eye.

is it the done thing to make an offer on a new build property or will the house builder not even entertain it ?

f they won’t accept offers what should we be pushing for instead?

thanks

steve.

Depends on the circumstances I guess. We didn’t on ours but it was a small development and the only house we wanted became available (which had previously been reserved by someone else). It was also vaguely sensibly priced to begin with, and by the time it was finished 15 months later the values and material costs had risen a bit which improved the value of the price we’d agreed and the sale price of our old house.

If there are earlier sold phases or other sites from that developer then you can dig around and look what they went for vs original advertised price.

Around here they are reducing the prices on many of the new builds, suggesting that perhaps they’ve saturated the market. So it would definitely be worth making an offer.

An offer can easily be increased, might be harder to reduce once accepted (although gazundering does happen). Round here, developments are released in phases to keep prices high- last time I was involved in the construction sector, the developments were over subscribed to keep prices up.

yeah there’s LOTS of scope for offers. if other properties on the site sold more than ~3 months ago then you can see what they paid, but bare in mind most devs pay your stamp duty for you (so factor that into the “paid price”).

Most of the big shops will throw in upgrade packages (better taps, carpet etc) rather than reduce the list price as it keeps their prices looking high, similarly for trade in they will high-ball your house rather than discount the current one.

all in we got around 7% off ours, completed nearly a year later by which time the value had risen another 10% or so (2014)

They may not be able to accept an offer, but they can normally throw stuff in for free. We paid asking price for ours, was the last one of the type we wanted the location we wanted.

Can’t remember the details but got a few bits and bobs upgraded, which at list price would have been a few thousand. Obviously works for them as the list price is not what they pay.

Although saying that when I looked at the cost of the hob and extractor their price was lower than AO. I assume because they’d had an agreed price before there was a COVID tax added, and all the brochures had those prices in so they just kept them.

Many builders will have a budget for “incentives” – probably single figure £000’s – which you might get to see via price or perhaps contribution to fittings, carpets etc.  That last bit is probably has the most promise for trying to extract a deal.  But if demand is strong I think the price you will pay will be very close to the sticker price.

My last 2 buys (Edinburgh and Ireland) were new builds and there was no way in hell of getting any discount back then due to locations, over subscribed interest in the properties etc, it was a case of paying up to secure it or someone else would be along the next day to take it instead. Things around here (Ireland) haven’t changed much since either. I guess times  are different now.

As above really, we got a very small cash saving but the real value is working out the complete ‘deal’.

Get some extra paving in the garden, get the turf done, get the upgraded/top spec appliances etc.

It’s pretty much like buying a car to be honest!