Off-plan sales hit 12-year low as Government warned it could miss building target
Hamptons' David Fell says a third of new homes were sold before construction in England and Wales.
Hamptons has warned the Government it faces more difficulties in hitting its housebuilding targets as off-plan sales hit a 12-year low.
Just 33% of new homes in England and Wales were sold before construction was complete in 2025, down from a peak of 49% a decade ago and the lowest share since 2013, the agency says.
Flats have driven the decline.”
“Flats have driven the decline,” Hamptons says, making up just 22% of new homes sold in 2025, down from 38% in 2016 and 54% in 2007.
David Fell, Lead Analyst at Hamptons (pictured), says: “The shift away from building flats towards houses, which are more likely to be sold after they’re finished and ready to move into, has increasingly contributed to the downward trend.
“This move towards lower-density, house-led development is likely to make it harder for the government to significantly ramp up housing delivery.”
Sharpest falls
Southern regions recorded the sharpest falls in off-plan sales in the past decade, while northern areas have fared better, according to Hamptons.
In 2025, 69% of flats in the North West were sold off-plan, the highest share of any region.
In recent years, housebuilders have increasingly scaled back flat development, despite flats being more likely than houses to sell off-plan.
Slide continues
Fell adds: “The share of new homes sold off-plan continued to slide last year. Over the past decade, the share of new homes sold before construction is complete has fallen by around a third.
“This partly reflects the loss of buy-to-let investors from the market, who have traditionally been the largest buyers of off-plan homes.”
Hamptons’ annual off-plan sales index draws on both Connells Group new homes data and Land Registry completions for England & Wales.
