House-hunters seek reassurance of visiting their new home as off-plan buying trend wanes

Home-hunters in Kent prefer to walk around a new home before they commit to making their choice, according to Jones Homes.

The developer, based in Swanley, says there is an identifiable shift away from buying off-plan, which is particularly noticeable for homes priced above £500,000.

The final homes at the company’s Westwood Park development in Lenham were recently released for sale, just as construction was nearing completion.

Sara Stanhope, Sales and Marketing Director for Jones Homes Southern, said: “Earlier this year we took the decision to wait until our homes were almost built before releasing them for sale. We wanted to make sure we were in full control of the build programme so the customer could have more certainty around their move-in date.

“Since then, we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback. Customers have felt more confident in their choice of home once they have walked around it, viewed the outlook and begun to plan how it could work for them.

“Off-plan buying will always have its place but we have found that our customers prefer to view a home so they feel they are making a more informed decision.”

At Westwood Park, Jones Homes has just five homes remaining, each four-bedroom detached houses with prices ranging from £675,000 to £700,000.

Sara added: “We have identified a correlation between the size and price of a home and how keen people are to buy off-plan. We are proud to build prestige homes with high specification. When customers are investing more than £500,000 in their new home, they need to feel comfortable with their decisions.

“New homes are much more energy-efficient than most in the second-hand market. There are many advantages to all fixtures and fittings being new. Yet the industry often pushes people to reserve early in the process and this can cause nervousness.

“We set out on this path to improve the customer experience and it has been well received.”

For more information on Westwood Park  see https://www.jones-homes.co.uk/ or call 01622 858390.