Off-plan sales of new homes hit a 12-year low in 2025, according to new research from Hamptons.
Hamptons’ annual off-plan sales index found off-plan sales accounted for 33% of new home sales in 2025.
This is down from 36% in 2024 and the lowest proportion since 2013. The peak of off-plan sales was reached in 2016, when these accounted for 49% of sales.
The drop off partly reflects the loss of BTL investors from the market, who have traditionally been the largest buyers of off-plan homes.
However, the shift away from building flats towards houses, which are more likely to be sold after they’re finished, has increasingly contributed to the downward trend.
In recent years, housebuilders have increasingly scaled back flat development, despite flats being more likely than houses to sell off-plan.
Flats accounted for a record 54% of new homes sold back in 2007, a share which had fallen to 38% by 2016 and to just 22% by 2025.
David Fell, lead analyst at Hamptons who put this research together, highlighted that off-plan sales play a crucial role when inflation and interest rates are high.
“The cash they generate allows housebuilders to pay down expensive development finance earlier and help offset the substantial upfront costs of materials and labour,” wrote David.
“Many of the materials needed to build new homes are highly energy-intensive, meaning their costs have risen far faster than wider inflation.
“With a greater share of homes now sold after completion, developers are typically carrying development finance for much longer than they did a decade ago.”
