Selling a new build or recently renovated property
A new or newly renovated property competes on specification and certainty. Both are worth paying for, and both need explaining.
A newly built or comprehensively renovated property has advantages that older properties cannot offer: nothing needs doing, warranties are in place, and running costs are lower. It also has disadvantages, principally that it is unproven and that the buyer has no comparable sales to reassure them.
The marketing has to address both. The specification sells the property; the warranties and certificates remove the buyer's fear.
What buyers pay a premium for
The premium for a new property comes from certainty and from specification, and it is worth stating both explicitly in the listing.
- A warranty: an NHBC or equivalent structural warranty on a new build, or a reputable contractor's guarantee on a renovation
- Building regulations completion certificates, which prove the work was inspected and approved
- Certificates for the electrical installation, the boiler and any gas work
- A low EPC rating benefit, which reduces running costs and matters to investors
- A specification list, because buyers cannot see the quality of what is behind the walls
The concerns to address
Buyers of new property worry about things they cannot see. Addressing the concerns directly in the listing is more effective than hoping they will not arise.
- Quality of workmanship, which photographs of details and a specification list can evidence
- Whether the work was properly inspected, which the building regulations certificate answers
- Who did the work and whether they can be held to account, which a warranty answers
- What the running costs will be, which the EPC and any utility figures answer
- Whether the property will feel like a home rather than a project, which the presentation answers
Pricing a property with no comparables
A property that has been extended or renovated may have no direct comparables, because the finished article is different from anything that has sold nearby. The valuation has to be built from the underlying property plus the value of the additional space and specification.
Establishing that figure from component parts — the value of a comparable unimproved property, plus the value of additional space at the local rate — produces a defensible number. Where the uplift is large, an independent valuation supports the price and reassures buyers that it is not arbitrary.
Common questions
- Do renovations add value?
- Comprehensive renovation usually adds value, because it addresses condition and specification, which are what buyers pay for. The value added depends on the local ceiling and on the cost per square metre of the work. Cosmetic renovation adds less; structural work that creates space or resolves a defect adds more.
- How do I market a property with no comparable sales?
- Build the valuation from components: the value of a comparable unimproved property plus the value of the additional space at the local rate plus an allowance for specification. Then support the price with an independent valuation. Presenting the reasoning to buyers is more persuasive than asserting a figure.