The number of new homes sold using part exchange has risen by 11% over the last year, according to data from Move with Us.

the firm, which claims to be the largest outsourced part exchange provider in the UK, says that part exchange – where a homeowner trades in their existing property for a new home through a house builder – has grown in popularity over the last year due to more second-time home buyers using part exchange to trade up as builders have priortised more family homes in their build-mix.

Robin King, director at Move with Us, said: “Part exchange is an attractive option for many homebuyers, allowing them to sell their old property at a true and fair market value in the shortest time possible and enabling them to get a brand new property in return. One of the main benefits of part exchange has to be the certainty provided by having no chains at either end of the sale. Due to these factors house builders are building more family-style homes and creating a new part exchange trend.

“The significant growth of construction activity coupled together with Government incentives such as the NewBuy scheme has also made new build properties much more accessible at a time when mortgage approval rates have been low so it is no real surprise that part exchange has increased in popularity as more so-called second steppers look to move up the property ladder.”