The latest new-build sector insight by the new-build sales optimisation platform, Unlatch, has revealed how homebuyers can actually save money by opting for a new home within a major city centre as opposed to looking to the commuter belt.

Unlatch analysed current new-build property values in 12 major cities across Britain, comparing this cost of climbing the ladder to the average new-build house price in the surrounding local authorities.

The research shows that on average, a new-build property purchase in a major city will set buyers back £304,204. However, when analysing new-build values in the local authorities surrounding these major cities, this cost climbs to £326,346 – a 7% increase.

Nottingham is home to the most affordable major city new-build market when compared to the surrounding commuter belt. The average Nottingham new-build commands £233,047 in the current market, whilst the average cost of purchasing a new home in the Nottingham commuter belt is 33% higher at £310,213.

In the Bristol commuter belt, the cost of buying a new-build is 27% higher than the average cost found in the city itself, while Sheffield’s commuter belt (22%) is home to a new-build house price premium of over 20% when compared to the average value of a new home within the city itself.

Homebuyers can also climb the new-build ladder for a more affordable price in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and London when compared to the average price in the surrounding commuter belt.

However, there are a handful of major cities where a new-build will still cost you more. In the Edinburgh commuter belt, the average new-build is -10% more affordable when compared to new-build values within the city itself.

New homes surrounding the city of Newcastle also come in -9% below the average price to purchase in Newcastle, while homebuyers in Leeds (-6%) and Cardiff (-2%) can also find greater new-build affordability by looking to the commuter belt. .

Lee Martin, Head of UK for Unlatch says:

“Urban living isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the high cost of homeownership has traditionally pushed many aspirational buyers from the inside out, looking to the commuter belt for a greater level of affordability.

However, this long term trend has driven heightened levels of house price growth in these ‘next best’ areas and, more recently, a reduction in demand for homes within our major city centres has also reduced as a result of the pandemic.

The upshot is that now there are a number of major cities where buyers can secure a new home for a better price than they may find across the commuter belt.”

Unlatch is helping these developers create a more sustainable and accelerated sales approach through their unique PropTech software. Saving their clients hours in laborious tasks on a weekly basis, adding value to their sales teams, and bringing down the average exchange timescale to 25 days from point of reservation rather than when legal packs are received when using the Unlatch platform.

Sales teams (both internal and external) are able to concentrate not only on their sales and progression, but also giving the customer a far better journey and experience through their purchaser portal white labelled APP. Our housebuilder and developing clients have seen the benefits every day, whilst using the data and analysis tools to save even more time for their marketing departments and for reporting.