Plain guides to every stage of buying a new home in the UK, checked against the official sources, with the figures that change filled in from today's tables and listings.
In this guide
Start here Decide
Buying a new build follows a different order from buying a second-hand home. Here is every step, what it costs and what to check, from your first budget to the keys.
01 Decide
How buying new works, how it compares with a second-hand home, and buying before it is built.
In this guide
01 Decide
A new build and a second-hand home can cost the same and still be very different buys. Here is how they compare on price, running costs, protections and risk.
In this guide
01 Decide
Many first-time buyers start with a new build: there is no chain, some schemes are only for new homes, and builders often offer help. Here is how it works and what to plan for.
In this guide
01 Decide
Buying before the home is built can get you the plot you want and a say in the finish. It also means waiting, and planning for a completion date that can move.
02 Budget
Every cost from deposit to keys, stamp duty, mortgages, and what builder incentives are worth.
In this guide
02 Budget
The price on the plot is only part of what you pay. This guide lists every cost of buying a new build, when each one falls due, and how to plan for them.
In this guide
02 Budget
Stamp duty is usually the biggest cost after your deposit. Here is how it works on a new build in England and Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with worked examples.
In this guide
02 Budget
Builders often offer more than a price: help with the deposit, the stamp duty, the move or the kitchen. Here is how each incentive works, how lenders see it, and how to compare it with a lower price.
In this guide
02 Budget
Part exchange lets a builder buy your current home so you can move into a new one without a chain. It is simple and certain, but you will usually get less for your home than on the open market.
03 Choose
Reading a site plan, viewing a show home, the questions to ask and what the home costs to run.
In this guide
03 Choose
Two identical house types on the same street can be very different homes to live in. This guide shows you how to compare developments and pick the plot that suits you.
In this guide
03 Choose
A show home is designed to sell. The questions you ask in the sales office tell you what you would actually be buying.
In this guide
03 Choose
New homes are built to modern energy rules, but not every new home is built to the same rules. Here is how to tell what you are getting and what it means for your bills.
04 Buy
Each legal stage and its deadlines, and the codes, warranties and terms that protect you.
In this guide
04 Buy
Buying a new build follows a different path to buying a resale home. Here is what happens at each stage, what you sign, what you pay and when you are committed.
In this guide
04 Buy
Most new homes are sold under a consumer code that sets rules for the builder from reservation to two years after you move in. Here is what each code promises, how to tell which one covers you, and how to complain when things go wrong.
In this guide
04 Buy
Almost every new build home comes with a structural warranty, usually for 10 years. It is valuable, but it is not a guarantee that anything that goes wrong will be fixed for free. Here is what it covers, when, and how to use it.
In this guide
04 Buy
How you own a new home affects what you pay every year and what you can do with it. Here is how tenure works on new builds, what the law now says about ground rent and estate charges, and what is still to change.
05 Move in
Snagging before and after completion, moving day, and living with a brand new home.
In this guide
05 Move in
Most new homes have some snags. Finding them early, recording them properly and knowing the builder's deadlines is how you get them fixed.
In this guide
05 Move in
Getting the keys is the start, not the end. A new home needs time to settle, and the first two years are when the builder's after-sales duties matter most.
Mortgages
How lenders decide, the kinds of mortgage and their fees, applying, and what to do once you have one.
In this guide
Mortgages
What you can borrow is not one sum but two tests run side by side: a multiple of your income, and a check of what is left after your bills. The lower answer wins.
In this guide
Mortgages
A mortgage in principle is the first piece of paper most buyers get, and the one most often mistaken for a promise. Here is what it is, what it is not, and when a builder may ask to see it.
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Mortgages
What a lender will lend on a first home comes down to your income, your spending and your deposit. Here is how each is measured, and the help that exists as of November 2026.
In this guide
Mortgages
Loan to value is one number that shapes which mortgages you can have and what they cost. This guide shows how to work it out, how it changes, and what is different on a new build.
In this guide
Mortgages
A broker can search many lenders for you, but brokers differ in how much of the market they cover and how they are paid. Here is what to ask, what the rules say and how to check a firm.
In this guide
Mortgages
Every mortgage answers two questions: how the interest rate is set, and how the loan is paid back. This guide explains each choice and how to compare one deal with another.
Its new homes, prices and builders, the schools and the people, and calculators set to its own prices. Choose a council on the map, or a place below.
The figures behind the guides: what new homes cost, where prices are being cut and what incomes and deposits reach, from the day's listings.
2 year fixed, last 12 months
Up 0.79 points in a year5.37%
Money
How each quoted fixed rate moved over 3 and 12 months, Bank Rate since 2016, and what moves the rate you are offered.
A month, typical home
Money
The share you buy, the rent on the rest, the monthly cost on a typical home for sale today and how staircasing works.
Homes within reach
Money
5% deposit mortgage figures: the Bank of England’s 95% rates, what a 95% loan costs a month on a typical new build, and which homes a 5% deposit reaches.
Free calculators for the figures the guides talk about, set to your own numbers.
Every new build home for sale in England, with what your income and deposit reach, the schemes you qualify for and the cash you need on the day. Free, with no account needed.