HM Land Registry: New build sales fall

The number of new build sales received for registration was down by 19% year-on-year.

HM Land Registry: New build sales fall

The number of new build sales received for registration dropped dramatically in November, data from HM Land Registry has shown.

Of the 92,152 sales received for registration in November 2,037 were for new builds, a 19% decrease from the same month in 2018.

Some 70,574 were for freehold, down 8.8% year-on-year.

David Hollingworth, associate director of communications at L&C Mortgages, said: “The new build market needs to continue to be strong because you don’t need to look far to find talk about the need for more supply of new housing and new build will play a key role in that.

“It will be worrying if you see that kind of decrease become a steady drop.

“But I think the new build market should hopefully perform well this year.

“There are the Help to Buy changes on the horizon next year, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays a part.

“I think lender focus on new build will continue to be strong with lenders ensuring they have good propositions to stay relevant in the market.”

In November the most expensive residential property sold was in Kensington and Chelsea for over £49m.

Meanwhile the cheapest residential property sold was in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea in Northumberland for £15,000.