New build house prices jumped by as much as 20% across parts of England in the first six months of the year, but transaction levels have ground to a halt as fire safety regulations weigh on the industry, says StripeHomes.

The developer says a new-build home in England, sold for £314,000 on average between January and June, 5.6% higher than the same period last year.

This data is based on Land Registry sold price records for new build homes sold during the first six months of this year, compared to the same period a year ago.

The West Midlands enjoyed the largest rate of growth, with new build homes selling for 20% more, hitting an average of £299,998.

The North East also saw a significant increase in the price paid for new build properties during the period, with the average price climbing by 17.1%.

The South West, with a 14.1% rise, is the only other region to see a double-digit increase, while the South East and East of England saw a 6.2% jump.

But Yorkshire and the Humber saw the average price paid for a new-build home plummet by -18.6% during the first half of this year.

The North West also saw a 6% fall, with the East Midlands seeing prices slip by 1%.

However, transaction levels in this market suffered a hit.

During the first half of this year, just 2,605 new build transactions were completed, a 92% fall compared to the first six months of 2020 when 32,453 new-build homes were sold.

The North East has seen new build transactions tumble by 95.4%, followed by the North West a drop of 94.6%, with the East of England falling by 93.8%.

London is the only region to see a decline in transactions lower than 90%. However, the number of new build homes sold in the capital during the first half of 2021 was still some 87% lower than a year ago.

StripeHomes homes says the fall is largely due to the implementation of EWS1 fire safety certificate rules, following the 2017 Grenfell Tower blaze which killed 72 people.

Buildings under 18m tall are supposed to be exempt from this certificate following an agreement between high street banks and the UK government.

But the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which advises property valuers, has said it is unable to alter its guidance on the issue until the government changes its fire safety advice, which is “still in place”.

StripeHomes managing director James Forrester says: “Transaction levels have all but ground to a half and this is predominantly due to the requirement of an EWS1 inspection.

“This requirement has seen many sales drag on four months on end, with inspectors unable to facilitate such a huge level of inspections and banks refusing to provide mortgages until they do.

“Despite the government’s attempts to address the issue by removing the EWS1 requirement on buildings below 18 metres, we now find ourselves in an industry stalemate.

“The banks refuse to adhere to these changes until ‘official advice’ is amended.

“But the Rics, in true archaic fashion, refuses to do so until they’ve ‘undergone a consultative process’ to ascertain if this would be in the public interest.”

“Ironically, while they drag their heels, thousands of new-build homebuyers remain in limbo and it doesn’t look as though a solution is on the horizon anytime soon.”