Buyers can get the BIGGEST reductions on new properties for a decade: Seven steps to barter an excellent deal

If you are in the market for moving home, now could be the ideal time to find a new build bargain. In fact, property experts say it’s the best time to strike a deal for a decade.

Britain’s housebuilders have been struggling to offload homes for months, due to a combination of economic gloom, rumours about property taxes in the Budget and an oversupply of completed properties compared to buyers. 

With a sluggish few months behind them and year-end sales targets still to meet, many developers are keener than ever to strike a deal. . 

This puts buyers in an extremely strong bargaining position, with some agents claiming they can knock prices down by 12 or 13 per cent.  

Rob Bence is the co-founder of Property Hub, an agency which finds new build buy-to-let properties for landlord clients. He strikes deals on these kinds of homes week-in, week-out, and says conditions are perfect at the moment. 

‘We’re seeing conditions in the property market that we haven’t seen for over a decade,’ says Bence. ‘The annoying thing about property cycles is that you normally only recognise the good buying windows in retrospect.

‘But we’ve been doing this long enough to spot them while they’re happening – and this is one of those moments.’

Bence says that, in 2022, he was securing an average discount on new-builds of 8 per cent, but now it is nearly 13 per cent – with his biggest discount as high as 17 per cent.

The estate agent Chestertons also says developers are struggling to sell newly built homes, as there are a higher than usual number of completed properties available for sale.

Watson Briggs, head of new homes sales says buyers can negotiate discounts of up to 12 per cent at the moment.

‘We have seen a 21 per cent decrease in new buyer enquiries for new homes this year, whilst developers carried on completing their projects,’ says Briggs.

‘This has resulted in a momentary imbalance of supply and demand for completed new build homes so there has really never been a better time to buy.

‘As developers need to meet their sales targets before the end of the year, buyers are in a particularly strong position to negotiate incentives and price reduction of up to 12 per cent. 

They also have the advantage of being able to see these homes in person straight away, rather than looking at a computer-generated image and buying them off-plan.

Why are new builds being sold cheap? 

The Government created uncertainty across the market with property tax rumours circulating ahead of the Budget on 26 November.

While many of the tax rumours ahead of the Budget came to nothing, higher rates of taxation were dished out on landlords and owners of expensive homes, in the form of an extra 2 per cent National Insurance surcharge on landlords and a council tax surcharge on £2million-plus properties which is being called a ‘mansion tax’. 

Some new build homes are also suffering from having the leasehold tag. Most new build flats are leasehold, as well as some houses on managed estates. 

Leasehold properties have picked up stigma in recent years due to the cladding scandal and uncertainty around leasehold reform.

There are also concerns around high service charges that can potentially make homes difficult to sell or get a mortgage on. 

Rob Bence of Property Hub says the negativity is resulting in the type of opportunities that would normally only be expected after a house price crash.

‘Sentiment has been poor for quite some time now, and as this has continued, developers have consistently missed their monthly sales targets and now have a gap to make up,’ says Bence. 

‘We’re seeing the types of discounts you’d typically expect after a market crash – yet we haven’t had a crash, and nor are we expecting one.’

Here are seven steps to bag yourself a new-build bargain, and make sure it’s a genuinely good deal. 

1. Look in the right place 

In some parts of the country, new builds are being listed for tens of thousands of pounds below where they were this time last year, according to analysis by Propertymark, the membership body for estate agents. 

It revealed that average prices for new builds in the South West have dropped by £33,120 when compared to October 2024.

In Yorkshire and Humberside there has been a £33,104 drop during the same period.

However, finding new build developments ripe for negotiation is easier said than done for those not in the know.

‘In the current market, knowledge is your biggest bargaining chip,’ says buying agent Jonathan Hopper, chief executive of Garrington Property Finders.

‘The buyers who secure the best prices are those who research the developer, know their local market, and understand where the real value lies – not just what the brochure says.’

2. Think about the three P’s

Hopper believes that bagging a bargain usually comes down to what he calls the ‘three p’s’ – price, postcode and property.

He says: ‘On price, the key question to ask yourself is how realistically the developer has priced the homes in the first place.’

If they are far out of kilter with the local market it suggests they my have been priced optimistically at the outset, and therefore the developer might be expecting to make markdowns. 

Knowing the temperature of the local market is key too. ‘In some postcodes, demand for new homes is still healthy, while in others it’s tumbleweed,’ says Hopper. 

‘The biggest discount opportunities tend to be in regions where sales have slowed, and developers need to unlock money.

This may offer an opportunity for buyers in London and the south east, which suffered acutely from pre-Budget rumours of a tax on more expensive homes.  

‘The property type also matters,’ says Hopper. ‘Leasehold flats are proving hard to sell while freehold houses tend to do better.’

This means anyone willing to buy leasehold could negotiate a sharper price cut.  

‘At the top end of the market, premium new builds have seen demand slide in the run-up to the Autumn Budget, so buyers here will find they have more room to negotiate.’

3. Go digging in the developer’s financials 

There is no denying that many housebuilders and developers are struggling.

As of September this year, 12,904 housebuilders were either in administration or in the process of being wound up, according to recent analysis of Companies House data by estate agent Hamptons, 63 per cent more than in September 2022.

Understanding a developer and their financial situation is a great place to start, according to Hopper.

Many rely on debt to fund their building projects, which means that until the homes are sold, they are stuck paying interest on those loans. 

‘If it’s a small developer, check their accounts on Companies House and see how much they’ve borrowed,’ says Hopper. ‘If they’re heavily leveraged, they’re far more likely to negotiate as they will need to keep the cash flowing.

If you’re buying from a big housebuilder, he suggests checking their share price and the investor section of their websites. 

‘Annual reports often reveal how close they are to hitting housing delivery targets. If they’re behind, they’ll be hungrier to make deals,’ he adds.

‘And don’t underestimate the power of basic online research. Reviews, press coverage and local chatter can all reveal how motivated a developer might be to do a deal.’

4. Get your timing right 

Housebuilders complete and sell their homes in pre-arranged stages, so they don’t flood the market with too many properties and struggle to sell them. 

Babek Ismayil, chief executive and founder of home buying website OneDome says developers are often most open to negotiation towards the end of a sales phase, when they will be keen to wrap things up. 

‘It’s worth keeping an eye on developments with only a few plots left,’ he says. ‘This is where developers have flexibility to offer extras like legal fee support, fitted bathroom and kitchen upgrades or help with moving costs.

‘Talking directly to on-site sales teams is also key, as they’re best placed to explain what’s possible.’

The end of a financial quarter, or the company’s financial year-end, can also be a time when developers are keen to do deals so it is worth looking these up. If you are dealing with a large listed firm, it should be easy to find. 

Conversely, if you don’t want to move in any time soon, being one of the first to snap up an off-plan property which won’t be ready for years can also get you a discount.

‘At the early stages of a development, buyers who purchase off-plan can sometimes secure discounts of around 5 or 10 per cent, reflecting the confidence they show in committing before construction is complete,’ says Ismayil.

5. But don’t wait too long… 

Bence says the current window of opportunity for buying a bargain new-build won’t last for much longer.

Now the Budget gossip is over, and with interest rate cuts tipped for December and into 2026 which should reduce the cost of a mortgage, next year is likely to see the market pick up. 

‘Developers aren’t brimming with optimism for 2026, but they can see brighter skies ahead and as a result the discounts we’re discussing for next year are beginning to ease off,’ says Bence.

‘There are plenty of reasons for investors to feel cautious, but there are deals to be done for those who are prepared to be brave.’

6. Get them to throw in some perks   

In normal circumstances, most builders prefer to offer incentives rather than direct price cuts. So, even if you can’t get the developer to reduce the price you will pay, there are other ways to indirectly secure money off.

These can take the form of a deposit contribution, paying the stamp duty or legal fees, free furniture packs or upgrades to fixtures and finishes. 

‘We’re seeing everything from stamp duty contributions to free furniture packs and carpets,’ says buying agent Jonathan Hopper.

‘Some are going even further, and we’ve even seen a new build in East Anglia that came with a brand new electric car thrown in.’

Babek Ismayil of OneDome says he has seen incentives become more creative too recently. 

He adds: ‘We’re seeing offers such as dedicated parking spaces, which can be worth £25,000 or more in some urban areas, and electric car charger installations. 

‘They are also handing out temporary benefits like service charge holidays, cashback, mortgage subsidies of £500–£1,000 a month for the first year, and access to gym or co-working memberships for residents. 

‘These extras can make a real difference to affordability and everyday convenience. If you’re negotiating, it’s worth asking what’s available rather than assuming incentives are fixed.’

7. Make sure it’s a genuine discount  

Homebuyers should also be wary of overpaying, even when the discount is taken into account, as often new builds are sold at big premiums to homes on the second hand market.

If you have your heart set on a new home, do sense check the price against similar second-hand properties in the wider area.  

There is also a fear when buying new builds, that similar to a new car, at first they’ll depreciate in value. 

Hopper advises checking Land Registry data or Rightmove sold prices to see what similar properties are selling for nearby, to make sure you are getting a genuinely good deal. 

It’s also worth looking at other plots on the same development to understand typical pricing. 

It is also worth knowing that any perks or discounts will be made clear to your mortgage lender via a Disclosure of Incentives Form, which is sent to the surveyor during valuation.

‘This ensures the incentive is legitimate, transparent, and properly accounted for in the property’s valuation – so buyers can be confident they’re not simply seeing an inflated price on paper,’ says Ismail. 

‘A good developer will always be transparent about how their prices are set, and whether any incentives are already factored in.’