Analysis points to cooling new-build activity overall, while a handful of city markets remain resilient
Demand for new-build homes across Great Britain eased further in the final quarter of 2025, with fewer than one in five properties finding a buyer, according to analysis by Property Inspect.
The firm reviewed current new-build listings and identified those marked as sold subject to contract, using this as a measure of buyer demand in Q4. Across the country, 16.8% of new-build units were under offer, down 0.9 percentage points on the previous quarter and 1.8 percentage points lower than in the same period a year earlier.
For lenders and intermediaries with exposure to new-build pipelines, the figures point to a slower sales environment at year-end, with notable regional variation.
Demand was weakest in Aberdeen, where only 1.5% of new-build stock had secured a buyer. Liverpool followed at 3.6%, with Newcastle at 4.5%, Swansea at 5.8% and Newport at 6.7%, placing all five among the least active markets for new-build transactions in Q4.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, Newport recorded the sharpest fall in demand, down eight percentage points. Sheffield posted a 7.6 percentage point decline. Bristol also weakened, with demand down 5.2 percentage points. Aberdeen (down 4.5 percentage points), Leicester (down 4.3 percentage points) and Plymouth (down 3.4 percentage points) also saw marked reductions. London registered a smaller quarterly fall of 0.4 percentage points, continuing a gradual cooling in activity.
Despite the overall slowdown, several centres continued to show comparatively robust performance. Southampton recorded the highest demand level, with 39.7% of new-build homes under offer. Nottingham followed at 25.6%, narrowly ahead of Sheffield at 25.5%, while Portsmouth (24.7%) and Bournemouth (22.9%) also reported relatively firm buyer interest.
In terms of quarterly change, Nottingham saw the strongest uplift, with demand rising by 7.5 percentage points in Q4. Glasgow posted an increase of 3.3 percentage points, and Portsmouth rose by three percentage points. Bournemouth edged higher by 0.4 percentage points, indicating that some local markets continued to attract new-build purchasers despite broader headwinds.
“New-build buyer demand has continued to ease as we closed out Q4, with fewer than one in five homes securing a buyer and momentum softening both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year,” said Sián Hemming-Metcalfe (pictured right), operations director at Property Inspect.
“Ongoing affordability pressures, a higher-for-longer interest rate environment and continued uncertainty around the direction of housing policy have combined to keep many buyers on the sidelines. With new-build homes typically priced at a premium, it’s unsurprising that this part of the market has felt the impact most acutely.
“That said, the outlook is not universally downbeat, and well-presented new-build stock can still generate strong levels of demand across much of the country, even in a more cautious market.”
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