Average price of a new home now £230,000

A newhome now costs £8,429 more on average than the same time last year.

The average price of a new home in October was £231,049, down 3.3 per cent over the month, according to SmartNewHomes latest figures.

Six out of the 11 regions recorded monthly price growth in October although London and the South East saw prices slip 3.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively in October. Wales recorded the biggest price fall in October at -1.4 per cent but prices remain 0.5 per cent above where they were 12 months ago. A new home now costs on average £8,429 more than the same time last year.

Steven Lees, Director of SmartNewHomes, said: "New home prices eased back in October following a wave of previously pent up buyer demand in September. We expect to see annual price growth of 3 per cent this year, with this strong price performance bolstered by growing consumer confidence and the mounting imbalance between demand and supply.

"As NewBuy celebrates reaching 2,000 reservations and the Welsh government announces plans to introduce a similar shared equity scheme to help first and second time buyers, we need to ensure that new homes are readily available and kept at affordable levels. The news that the EU could impose a 20 per cent tax on new build homes would render useless every housebuilder and Government initiative intended to get the UK moving, with developers forced to pass this new cost onto buyers, pushing them well beyond reach of most."