On this page
- of new homes for sale are below their first price
- 3.9%
- of homes listed over a year have been cut
- 60%
- carry a stated builder offer
- 51.1%
- 2 year fixed rate with a 10% deposit
- 5.37%
Is now a good time to buy a house?
No one can reliably call the top or the bottom of a market. What can be measured is what is happening now: which way builders are moving their prices, which homes are being cut, what offers are on the table, and what borrowing costs. NewHomeSearch tracks the asking price of every new home for sale in England every day, so here is what that shows today.
Over the last six months, builders cut prices more often than they raised them: 181 price cuts and 26 rises. 3.9% of the new homes for sale today are listed below the first price they were offered at.
Prices over the last six months
Every time a builder changes the asking price of a home for sale, NewHomeSearch records it. Here are the cuts and rises, month by month:
Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 13 November 2026.
Show the figures
| Month | Cuts | Rises |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | 59 | 1 |
| July 2026 | 27 | 7 |
| August 2026 | 30 | 9 |
| September 2026 | 40 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 20 | 3 |
| November 2026 | 5 | 1 |
A month with more cuts than rises is a month in which builders found prices too high to sell at the pace they wanted. Our tracker of new build price cuts shows the size of the cuts, where they are deepest and which builders make them.
The best time to buy a particular home
Timing matters more for one home than for the market. A home that has sat unsold for months is one the builder wants to sell, and the figures show it:
Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 13 November 2026.
Show the figures
| Listed for | Homes | Below first price |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 months | 6,998 | 3.8% |
| 3 to 6 months | 1,385 | 20.6% |
| 6 to 12 months | 316 | 47.5% |
| Over a year | 30 | 60% |
3.8% of the homes listed for under three months have had their price cut, against 60% of those listed for over a year. 0.3% of the new homes for sale today have been listed for more than a year. On a home like that, there may be room to negotiate on the price or the extras. Each home's page on NewHomeSearch shows its price history, where it has changed, so you can see what it was first offered at and every change since.
Offers on the table
Builders also sell with offers, instead of a cut or as well as one. 51.1% of the new homes for sale carry at least one offer stated by the builder or on the listing, from paid stamp duty and deposit contributions to furniture packs:
Source: NewHomeSearch listings: every new home for sale in England, read 13 November 2026.
Show the figures
| Builder | With an offer | Below first price | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellway | 98.1% | 3.3% | 1,437 |
| Gleeson Homes | 98% | 0% | 404 |
| Lovell | 92.1% | 1.6% | 508 |
| Charles Church | 75.3% | 2.9% | 514 |
| Miller Homes | 71.1% | 11% | 1,305 |
| David Wilson Homes | 67.8% | 0% | 1,363 |
| Bovis Homes | 65.7% | 9.6% | 449 |
| Persimmon Homes | 65.5% | 4.3% | 1,789 |
| Barratt Homes | 63.3% | 0% | 1,183 |
| Taylor Wimpey | 63% | 1.1% | 1,653 |
| Redrow | 49.5% | 0% | 1,133 |
| Bloor Homes | 10.2% | 2.8% | 577 |
Bellway states an offer on the most of its homes, 98.1%. An offer has to be declared to your lender, and some lenders take a cash incentive off the price before working out the loan. The offer comparison tool shows which of two offers is worth more to you, and our incentives page lists the offers on sale today.
People also ask
Will UK house prices rise in the next 5 years?
No one can say for certain, and forecasts often miss. What can be measured is now: over the last six months, builders cut prices more often than they raised them, and 3.9% of new homes for sale are below their first asking price.
What is the average time it takes to buy a house in the UK?
For a finished new build, often a couple of months: the New Homes Quality Code gives you at least six weeks to exchange, then the builder’s notice to complete. For a home still being built, add the time to finish it: the middle home being built today is due in 6 months.
What borrowing costs
For most buyers the rate matters as much as the price. In September 2026 the Bank of England's quoted 2 year fixed rate at 90% loan to value was 5.37%; a year earlier it was 4.58%. Since 2016 it has been as low as 1.89%, in April 2020, and as high as 6.57%, in August 2023.
Source: Bank of England, quoted household interest rates (Bankstats G1.3), via HomePortfolio, read 13 November 2026.
Show the figures
| Month | 5% deposit | 10% deposit | 25% deposit | 40% deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2016 | 3.95% | 2.85% | 1.93% | 1.7% |
| April 2016 | 3.92% | 2.71% | 1.84% | 1.67% |
| July 2016 | 3.85% | 2.57% | 1.72% | 1.73% |
| October 2016 | 3.73% | 2.42% | 1.52% | 1.38% |
| January 2017 | 3.62% | 2.5% | 1.45% | 1.33% |
| April 2017 | 4.04% | 2.43% | 1.35% | 1.24% |
| July 2017 | 4.07% | 2.37% | 1.41% | 1.23% |
| October 2017 | 4.02% | 2.36% | 1.55% | 1.44% |
| January 2018 | 3.82% | 2.17% | 1.54% | 1.42% |
| April 2018 | 3.9% | 2.36% | 1.72% | 1.73% |
| July 2018 | 3.78% | 2.3% | 1.75% | 1.73% |
| October 2018 | 3.33% | 2.27% | 1.8% | 1.64% |
| January 2019 | 3.04% | 2.23% | 1.72% | 1.65% |
| April 2019 | 2.92% | 2.15% | 1.66% | 1.6% |
| July 2019 | 2.96% | 2.15% | 1.61% | 1.49% |
| October 2019 | 2.99% | 2.07% | 1.47% | 1.31% |
| January 2020 | 3.02% | 2.05% | 1.41% | 1.3% |
| April 2020 | 3.07% | 1.89% | 1.38% | 1.32% |
| July 2020 | 2.58% | 2.5% | 1.45% | 1.32% |
| October 2020 | 4.13% | 3.52% | 1.94% | 1.49% |
| January 2021 | 4.16% | 3.63% | 1.75% | 1.33% |
| April 2021 | 4.01% | 3.38% | 1.49% | 1.24% |
| July 2021 | 3.53% | 2.79% | 1.29% | 1.16% |
| October 2021 | 2.98% | 2.04% | 1.29% | 1.13% |
| January 2022 | 2.73% | 1.95% | 1.64% | 1.42% |
| April 2022 | 2.95% | 2.58% | 2.35% | 2.25% |
| July 2022 | 3.96% | 3.69% | 3.48% | 3.43% |
| October 2022 | 6.42% | 6.2% | 5.99% | 5.94% |
| January 2023 | 6.02% | 5.66% | 5.14% | 5.01% |
| April 2023 | 5.65% | 5.07% | 4.6% | 4.53% |
| July 2023 | 6.88% | 6.49% | 6.22% | 6.22% |
| October 2023 | 6.6% | 6.06% | 5.6% | 5.52% |
| January 2024 | 5.87% | 5.44% | 4.71% | 4.62% |
| April 2024 | 5.87% | 5.47% | 4.98% | 4.86% |
| July 2024 | 5.97% | 5.61% | 4.99% | 4.8% |
| October 2024 | 5.61% | 5.3% | 4.4% | 4.19% |
| January 2025 | 5.69% | 5.35% | 4.63% | 4.48% |
| April 2025 | 5.29% | 4.96% | 4.42% | 4.23% |
| July 2025 | 5.05% | 4.62% | 4.21% | 4.02% |
| October 2025 | 5% | 4.57% | 4.2% | 4.03% |
| January 2026 | 4.8% | 4.36% | 3.93% | 3.72% |
| April 2026 | 5.8% | 5.46% | 5.14% | 4.97% |
| July 2026 | 5.48% | 5.07% | 4.79% | 4.6% |
| September 2026 | 5.7% | 5.37% | 5.13% | 5.01% |
A mortgage offer usually holds its rate for about six months, so locking in a rate before you find a home is possible, and a lender can often extend an offer when a new home is finished late. Our article on mortgage rates shows the average rate at every deposit size and what it costs a month, the mortgage rates comparison each lender's own deals today, and mortgage rate news which lenders have cut or raised their rates, and when.
Stamp duty
Stamp duty is a fixed cost of buying, and its bands change only when the government changes them. In England a first-time buyer pays nothing on the first £300,000 of a home costing up to £500,000, and a home mover nothing on the first £125,000. The stamp duty calculator works out the tax on any price.
The time of year
The calendar matters less for a new build than for a second-hand home, because a builder sells all year and releases homes as they are finished. What changes is the builder's own position: the Competition and Markets Authority found that it is costly for builders to have capital tied up in finished, unsold homes. The figures above, a home's time on the market and the builder's offers, say more about a good moment to buy a particular home than the month does.
If you need to move by a certain date, start from when the home will be ready. Our article on how long it takes to build a house shows when the builders expect the homes for sale today to be finished.
See every new home listed below its first price
Every reduced new home for sale in England, with each price it has been listed at and how long it has waited for a buyer.
Find reduced homesHow we worked it out
The homes are the new homes NewHomeSearch lists as for sale in England today, read each day from the builders' own websites and the listings portals through HomePortfolio. A price cut or rise is any change in a home's stated asking price from one day's reading to the next; a home is below its first price when its asking price today is lower than the first price recorded for it. A home's time on sale runs from the day it was first listed. An offer is any incentive the builder or the listing states. The rates are the Bank of England's average quoted rates for new fixed-rate mortgages, and stamp duty comes from the same engine as our calculators, at the rates in force today. Every figure is worked out again from the day's listings each time the page is opened. It is information, not advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is it a good time to buy a new build?
The figures show what is happening, not what will: over the last six months builders cut prices more often than they raised them, 3.9% of new homes for sale are below their first price and 51.1% carry a builder offer.
Should I wait for house prices to fall?
Waiting can cost as well as save: rent, and any change in rates, run on while you wait. In September 2026 the quoted 2 year fixed rate at 90% loan to value was 5.37%, against 4.58% a year earlier.
Do builders cut prices on homes that have not sold?
More often the longer a home is for sale: 60% of new homes listed for over a year have had a price cut, against 3.8% of those listed for under three months.
Is it cheaper to buy a new build with an offer or a price cut?
It depends on the sums: a cut lowers the price you borrow against and the stamp duty, while an offer such as paid stamp duty lowers the cash you need. Our offer comparison tool works out which is worth more to you.
Do first-time buyers pay stamp duty in England?
Not on the first £300,000 of a home costing up to £500,000. A home mover pays nothing on the first £125,000.
Sources
- NewHomeSearch: the new homes for sale in Englandbuilders' websites and listings portals, via HomePortfolio
- Bank of England: Database, quoted household interest ratesbankofengland.co.uk
- GOV.UK: Stamp Duty Land Tax: residential property ratesgov.uk
- NHQB: New Homes Quality Code, version 2 (March 2026)nhqb.org.uk
- Competition and Markets Authority: Housebuilding market study, final report (2024)gov.uk
- UK Finance: Disclosure Form, frequently asked questionsukfinance.org.uk
Information only, not financial advice. NewHomeSearch is independent: it does not sell homes, arrange mortgages or take payment from builders. Read how we work out every figure.
From the guides:New build incentives explained: what they are worthMortgage in principle: what it is and how to get oneNew build vs old house: pros and cons (UK)