The New Build HomeBuyers in 2026

What 1,000 Homebuyers Just Told Us

The way buyers search for new build properties has changed. The information they trust, where they spend their time, how they make decisions—it's all shifted. And if your marketing approach hasn't moved with them, the gap is already there.

In January 2026, we surveyed 1,000 UK homebuyers planning to purchase a new build property within the next three years. What they told us confirms what many of us suspected: the playbook has changed. The barriers have compounded. And the developers who win in this market won't be the ones with the biggest budgets, they'll be the ones with the sharpest insights into who their buyers are and how they behave.

This isn't another vanity report filled with obvious conclusions. This is tactical intelligence for property marketers who need to know where to focus, what to say, and how to reach buyers in 2026.

Here's a first look at what we found.

The Market is Split, and Your Strategy Should Too

The divide between first-time buyers and existing homeowners is nearly equal.

These two audiences don't just have different needs, they’re buying under completely different conditions. Your first-time buyer is navigating deposit schemes, mortgage jargon, and affordability anxiety. Your existing homeowner is comparing equity, calculating upgrade costs, and evaluating whether the move justifies the hassle.

One development. Two completely different stories. If your marketing doesn't segment at this fundamental level, you're diluting your message to both.

Same Flat, Different Dream

Three-bedroom houses dominate buyer demand, but when we dug into the data, apartments still represent a significant portion of the market. The mistake most developers make? Treating all apartment buyers as the same segment.

A first-time buyer looking for a two-bedroom flat has completely different priorities than a downsizer seeking the same property. Same product type. An entirely different dream you're selling.

The nuance is in the segmentation, and the developers who understand this will outperform those who don't.

Discovery is Fragmented

Here's where it gets interesting. We asked buyers how they first heard about new developments, and the responses were all over the map. Property portals, physical signage, social media, word of mouth, they're all in play. But the channel mix shifts dramatically depending on the age of the buyer.

For younger buyers, social media isn't a nice-to-have, it's where discovery happens. For older buyers? They're more likely to find you by driving past your site than scrolling through Instagram.

There's no silver bullet. Discovery is messy, multi-touch, and varies by demographic. If your budget allocation treats all channels equally, or worse, if you're doubling down on the wrong channels for your target audience, you’re leaving enquiries on the table.

The Trust Gap No One is Talking About

We didn't just ask buyers where they discover properties. We asked them where they place their trust when researching new builds. And then we went a step further.

We surveyed our buyers on their awareness and trust levels across the UK's leading houseuilders. The result? A ranked trust score that reveals exactly where each brand sits in the minds of their target market.

Some developers are crushing it. Others have a serious awareness problem. And a few have high awareness but surprisingly low trust, a dangerous combination that suggests reputation issues are costing them conversions.

The rankings aren't what you'd expect. Brand size doesn't always equal trust. And for property marketers, understanding where your brand sits and, more importantly, what the market leaders are doing differently, is the kind of competitive intelligence that shapes strategy, not just tactics.

New Build Homebuyers Survey 2026: Out in March

This is just the surface. Inside the full report, you'll find the complete brand trust rankings, the channel-by-channel breakdown of discovery and platform-specific research behaviour, and the buyer personas that will reshape how you allocate budget, craft messaging, and segment your audience in a market that's more competitive and fragmented than ever before.

1,000 buyers. Dozens of insights. One tactical manual to help shape your marketing in 2026.

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