The number of enquiries from home movers who are interested in buying new-build properties rose by 23% in the first half of this year compared to the previous six months, according to Newhomesforsale.co.uk.
The portal, which was bought by Zoopla earlier this year, highlights the increase in demand for new build homes beyond the traditional first-time buyer market.
It points to the opportunity for housebuilders to offer incentives to existing homeowners who are looking for larger family properties rather than focussing schemes too narrowly on first-time buyers.
The portal says developers could appeal to these buyers with part-exchange schemes, flexible moving dates, stamp duty contributions and initiatives to help movers to complete without their property chain collapsing.
Under these schemes, called chain-free completions, the housebuilder can sometimes offer to buy the home mover’s previous property or help them to manage the sale to ensure it goes through smoothly.
Persimmon and Charles Church Suffolk sales director Lucy Woodhall says: “We’ve definitely noticed a shift in who’s coming through our doors, with more existing homeowners asking about part-exchange and chain-free completion, particularly at our Suffolk developments.
“It tells us the industry needs to think harder about what this audience actually wants, rather than defaulting to first-time buyer incentives.”
Newhomesforsale.co.uk director Mark Hincks adds: “The upsizer homeowner market is an increasingly important source of buyer leads for home builders.
“Many buyers in the resale market face the risk of fall-throughs and uncertainty on timing a purchase. New homes offer flexibility and greater certainty.
“The proposition needs to be tailored for this audience.
“Existing homeowners have different motivations and barriers to first-time buyers.
“Benefits such as part-exchange, stamp duty contributions, lower running and maintenance costs and greater certainty around the move could become increasingly important in converting this growing audience.”
