It has been revealed that only 4% of all affordable homes sold in England are new builds.

Conveyancing services firm MyHomeMove looked at all property transactions under the £125,000 zero percent Stamp Duty threshold between January and September this year and found that just 3,841 new homes were sold out of a total of 100,656.

Doug Crawford, CEO of MyHomeMove, says he doubts whether the government can deliver its affordable homes promises of 40,000 units made in the recent Autumn statement, as so few new homes are being built that can be classed as affordable.

“From our own research we know that two thirds of people believe affordable housing should cost less than £120,000,” he says.

Some of the figures will make for grim reading for Housing Minister Gavin Barwell. In Berkshire, Herefordshire, Surrey and London only 1,544 properties were sold for less than £125,000 of which just 57 were new builds.

The research also reveals the three areas where the most affordable homes, and new homes, were sold. These are Manchester, West Yorkshire and the Midlands, reflecting a strong north/south divide in the figure. The further south you go the fewer affordable homes of any kind are found for sale.

For example, 57.6% of all properties sold in Durham were under £125,000 while in Surrey it’s just 1.04%..

But buyers looking for the region with the most affordable homes should head for the North East. Figures just out from the Land Registry show the region has an average house price of £124,500.