Average asking prices for newly built homes in the South West fell sharply over the past year, dropping by £33,120 compared with October 2024, according to new figures from Propertymark.

Yorkshire and Humberside recorded a near-identical decline, with average prices for newbuild instructions down £33,104 on an annual basis. These two regions saw the steepest falls across the UK.

Nationally, however, the picture is less uniform. The average price for a new instruction now stands at £442,281 – an increase of £15,138 since Propertymark’s previous newbuilds report in July, when the figure was £427,143.

Affordability pressures remain a dominant factor in the market, even as the government seeks to accelerate delivery of new homes.

UNLOCKING DEVELOPMENT

The Planning and Infrastructure Bill, currently progressing through Parliament, aims to unlock the development of 1.5 million homes in England, while devolved administrations continue to set their own housing targets.

With the Autumn Budget approaching, speculation around a potential replacement for stamp duty in England and Northern Ireland is adding another layer of uncertainty. Any structural shift in property taxation is expected to influence newbuild pricing over the coming year.

SUSTAINABLE MIX

Nathan Emerson (main picture, inset), CEO at Propertymark, said: “With an ever-growing population comes a defined commitment to ensure there is a sustainable mix of new dwellings to keep pace with future demand.

“Across all nations, various governments have made key pledges to build ambitious numbers of new properties. However, it remains prudent to ensure such homes are designed and built to deliver realistic affordability and better certainty regarding long-term pricing trends.”

COMPLEX METRICS

And he added: “While the price of raw materials and labour generally trends upwards over time, from a consumer viewpoint, it can appear puzzling to see such year-on-year price fluctuations on new homes coming to the market.

“It is important to consider house pricing is influenced by many complex metrics, which may include the initial cost of the land any such properties are built on, the type of property being constructed, the cost of design, and the intricacies of the planning approval process, as well as the availability of base materials at any particular time, to credit just a few considerations.”