Why buying a new home could be right for you

Is a brand-new home more energy-efficient?

With more and more people worried about the rising cost of utility bills, and the impact of climate change, choosing a home that’s energy-efficient is becoming a top priority.

Recent research reveals that brand-new homes are designed to be up to 63% more energy-efficient and could save you more than £3,100 per year ¹.

With Barratt Homes, energy-efficiency is achieved through the use of advanced systems and smart technologies including highly thermally efficient insulation and argon-filled double glazing. Brand-new homes treat water as a precious resource, too. For instance, Barratt homes come with water and energy saving appliances, as well as kitchen and bathroom fittings that could reduce consumption by up to 26% per day per person compared to the national average ².

Energy-efficient homes

Brand-new homes are usually built with sustainability in mind

New-build homes are built to high modern standards, not just in terms of their overall design quality, but also the materials and construction methods used.

In keeping with this drive to create sustainable homes and communities that are better for the environment, Barratt Homes focuses on key areas such as:

• Reducing the amount of waste on sites
• Using timber from sustainable sources
• Using more recycled materials
• Creating sustainable supply chains

Sustainable building

Greener places to live

More and more of us appreciate the benefits of having access to green spaces where people and nature can thrive. Brand-new homes are generally built within thoughtfully designed developments that work for communities and wildlife too.

For instance, when creating a new development, we

• Work in harmony with the local environment, consulting ecologists on which hedgerows, trees and shrubs will encourage wildlife
• Ensure that much of the land is used to create gardens and green spaces – in 2021 we ³ created 268 hectares (the same as 383 football pitches) for our customers to enjoy
• Support wildlife by creating features like hedgehog highways and homes for swifts
• Plant or retains trees and shrubs. Across the UK that works out over 500,000 each year ⁴
  
  

Are brand-new homes built to last?

If you buy an old property, say a Victorian terraced house, it may have been well constructed, but the years could have taken their toll. But what about a new-build home?

The key to making sure you’re buying solid quality is to look for builders with a focus on craftsmanship and a track record that gives you genuine peace of mind.

Is the home you’re interested in backed by 10-year NHBC Buildmark warranty? Will it be thoroughly inspected by specialists before you move in? Has the housebuilder been consistently awarded 5 Stars by the Home Builders Federation? If the answer to those questions is yes, you can be confident that you’re buying lasting quality.

Quality of our homes

Is it simpler to buy a new-build home?

There’s no getting away from the fact buying a home can be a stressful experience. That’s particularly true if you’re part of chain and relying on the successful sale of other properties to get yours over the line. As the Halifax points out: ‘If you’re in a property chain, this can mean that moving house could take longer or is more complicated. The more people in a chain, the more likely it is that something can go wrong.’ ⁵

Property purchasing figures highlight the problem, with 300,000 sales falling through each year due to a collapsed chain ⁶.

Buy a brand-new home and you remove some of the uncertainty, because there’s no seller’s chain to worry about. This can make it a straightforward, chain-free process. And even if you’ve got a property to sell first, with our Part Exchange scheme we could become your guaranteed buyer and help you move faster.

We’ve also put together a useful and comprehensive guide to the whole home buying process.

Less renovation and lower maintenance

Sometimes, people are drawn to a characterful older property and see renovating it as an exciting project. But working out how much that might cost (once you’ve discovered everything that needs doing) can be tricky.

Research shows it could cost up to £70,000* to upgrade an old property to modern standards ⁷.

So, it’s not surprising that more and more people are attracted by a brand-new home which is ready to be enjoyed from the moment you complete.

Can a new-build home be a good investment?

The simple answer is yes, for lots of different reasons. Whether it’s your first step on to the property ladder, or you’re moving up a rung, owning a brand-new Barratt home can mean:

• Lower annual running costs
• Quality backed by a 10-year NHBC Buildmark warranty, which includes a 10-year structural warranty and 2-year fixtures and fittings warranty that covers you for any surprises ⁸

No worries about spending money on fixing things like old wiring, plumbing and floorboards

Are there ways to help people buy a brand-new home?

Like any property purchase, when buying a brand-new home you need to have your finances in place. Thankfully, there are plenty of schemes to help people make their move.

Whether you're a first-time buyer or an existing homeowner, our aim is to make your homebuying journey as smooth and easy as possible. We have a variety of schemes available, which include:

• Deposit Unlock – exclusively available on selected new-build homes and available to both first time buyers and existing homeowners, it means you could buy with just a 5% deposit.
• Deposit Boost – as the name suggests, if you have a 10% deposit, we could boost it with a further 5% of the asking price, so you would only need an 85% mortgage.

If you’re thinking about moving and trying to work out what’s best for you, there’s nothing like owning a brand-new, energy-efficient home designed for modern living.

1. Indicative figures, based on HBF "Watt a Save" report published February 2023.
2. Water UK.
3. ‘We’, ‘our’, ‘us’ refers to the Barratt Developments PLC Group brands including Barratt Homes, David Wilson Homes and Barratt London.
4. Barratt Developments Sustainability Report 2021.
5. ‘What is a property chain and how can you manage it?’ Halifax.
6. ‘More than 300,000 property purchases fell through last year - we reveal the most common reasons and how to get a deal back on track.’ This is Money, February 2021.
7. ‘Indicative figures, based on HBF "Get on with living" report published February 2023.
8. 2-year builder warranty from legal completion directly from Barratt Homes, backed by NHBC's resolution service. Then 8 years of structural defects insurance cover with NHBC.