29 Mar 2022
Tags: New Homes, New Build, First Time Buyers, Bts, Snagging, Property Management, Parking, Gardens
Thousands of buyers who bought a new build in the last four years have revealed what they wish they’d known before buying, with property management (36%), parking (34%), gardens (19%), snagging (18%) and noise (14%) topping the list of ten most-mentioned issues.
Buyers also said they wish they’d known more about terms and conditions, with service charges also getting regular mentions. With hindsight, buyers felt they needed to know much more about development plans around their chosen home, and wished they had communicated more proactively with the developers.
The findings form part of the New Build Buyer’s Guide by property review site HomeViews, in partnership with the HomeOwners Alliance. The guide includes a list of Ten Things Owners Wish They’d Known Before Buying – drawn from the responses of over 7,000 verified new build apartment and house owners on the HomeViews residential review platform.
The HomeOwners Alliance adds their advice to the ten things, giving buyers a unique resource on the process of buying a new build home.
The Buyer’s Guide also includes the 10 highest-rated UK developers for first time buyers, according to reviews on HomeViews. Berkeley Homes takes the top spot, with Countryside in second and Davidson Homes in third.
A list of the Top 5 housing associations for Shared Owners is also included, with Peabody and L&Q taking first and second place respectively (see notes below for tables).
Rory Cramer, Co-founder and CEO, HomeViews:
"HomeViews exists to give buyers and tenants the best information about finding the best possible new home. Our verified reviews are one of the best ways for new build buyers to avoid any of the ‘nasty surprises’ during the buying process, and to stay informed about common issues that are likely to come up. Our new Buyer’s Guide brings together some of our extra review data not publicly available on HomeViews.com – data the industry is already using to better understand residents and raise standards in the UK."
Paula Higgins, CEO, HomeOwners Alliance
"Don’t assume anything when you’re buying a new home. There’s a lot more to research than you think. And with a new build in particular, you need to look beyond the glossy marketing brochure. This Homebuyers Guide will help you go in with your eyes wide open so you don’t overlook the small stuff - from parking provision to ongoing service charges, from issues around new build gardens to sources of noise. Until now it’s been difficult to find independent and verified information about new developments."
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Top 10 developers for first time buyers
|
RANKING |
DEVELOPER |
|
1 |
Berkeley Homes |
|
2 |
Countryside |
|
3 |
Davidson Homes |
|
4 |
Barratt London |
|
5 |
Bellway Homes |
|
6 |
Fairview New Homes |
|
6 |
St George |
|
8 |
Avant Homes |
|
9 |
Lovell Homes |
|
10 |
Crest Nicholson |
Top 10 inclusion criteria
Developers with 100+ Verified Owner reviews across 3+ developments in the sample data (all-time review data up until November 2021); ranking calculated by an equal agglomeration of scores for Star Rating, After-Sales Care, Delivery Quality and Owner Recommends.
Top 5 housing associations for Shared Owners
|
RANKING |
DEVELOPER |
|
1 |
Peabody |
|
2 |
L&Q |
|
3 |
Notting Hill Genesis |
|
4 |
Metropolitan Thames Valley |
|
5 |
Catalyst Housing |
Top 5 inclusion criteria:
HAs with 30+ Verified Shared Owner reviews across 3+ developments in the sample data (all-time review data up until November 2021); ranking calculated by an equal agglomeration of ratings on HomeViews for Star Rating, After-Sales Care, Delivery Quality and Owner Recommends.
Guide research methodology
Responses to the question What one thing (or more) do you wish you had known before you moved in? from a dataset of 7,152 Verified Owners on HomeViews were analysed for keyword frequency. E.g. the finding about parking was an analysis of the frequency of mentions of ‘Parking’, ‘Garage’ and ‘Car park’.
HomeViews
HomeViews is the only independent review platform for residential developments in the UK. Dubbed the 'TripAdvisor for property,' HomeViews allows prospective buyers and tenants to make an informed decision on where to live based on unique insights from carefully verified resident reviews.
Launched in February 2019 and with over 33,000 reviews across 2,100 developments to date, HomeViews provides a powerful research and marketing tool for the UK’s residential property sector. HomeViews is working closely with developers, operators, housing associations and the Government to give residents a voice and raise standards across the built environment in the UK.
The HomeOwners Alliance
The HomeOwners Alliance (HOA) is a property advice website that provides expert help and services for all the key moments of buying, selling or owning your home. They are on your side to guide you on your home owning journey with information to help you make smart choices and get a better deal. Alongside free expert advice, they have all the services you need under one roof. You can shop around and compare quotes without leaving the HOA site. But they don’t just get you a better deal by providing a range of services. They also campaign on a raft of issues and report on homeowner trends and homeowner’s greatest concerns. They’re pushing for changes by speaking out to the media, industry and government and publishing data. Visit them at www.hoa.org.uk to see how they can help you.
Contact:
Ash Pearson
Marketing Manager, HomeViews