Young people are more than twice as likely to consider buying a new build home than their elders due to the lower running costs, according to new research.

But the attitudes of older buyers towards new builds are slowly changing, says developer Bloor Homes.

A survey carried out on behalf of the Home Builders Federation (HBF) found that 55 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 were likely to consider buying a new build, compared to just 23 per cent of over 45s.

The report, entitled Why Buy New: Home Buyer Intentions and Opinions, also showed that younger people are much more concerned about running costs than older buyers, with 67 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds taking this into account when deciding whether to buy, compared to 40 per cent of 35 to 44-year-olds.

Research by the HBF has found that new homes built today are 65 per cent more energy efficient than a Victorian house of the same style, 50 per cent cheaper to run and use 30 per cent less water.

In addition, the HBF estimates that it costs around £45,000 to upgrade a second home to the standard of a new build.

Rowena Adams, regional sales director at Bloor Homes south west, said “While it is fair to say that on the whole younger people are more likely to consider buying a new build home than their elders, we have seen a definite shift in attitude among older housebuyers.

“New builds are particularly attractive to younger people and first-time buyers because of the lower running costs involved and the fact they are eligible for the Government’s Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, not to mention the peace of mind that comes with the protection of a 10-year warranty.

“However, we have also seen growing interest from downsizers and older buyers who want a home which does not take a lot of work to maintain and are keen to avoid high energy bills eating into their retirement income.

“That said, it is clear that many of the outdated misconceptions about new build homes still persist, with a third of people saying that they would not consider buying a new property because they believed the cost would be too high.

“In our experience, as soon as buyers visit one of our developments for the first time, any such misconceptions disappear. Indeed, many customers have told us that after seeing the quality of our new homes and the spacious designs of our developments they would never consider buying a second-hand property again.”

For more information about buying new with Bloor visit bloorhomes.com.