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Pricing a new development effectively can be time consuming and challenging, yet is one of the most critical decisions a housebuilder can make. Get it right, and you will have increased success with land acquisitions, maximise sales rates and profitability. Get it wrong, and you risk slow sales, unnecessary price reductions, and even missed opportunities to develop or optimise your scheme.

Yet, one of the most common risks I see housebuilders take is relying solely on rapidly collated, light touch research when setting prices, housing mix & creating initial scheme layouts.

Why National & Regional Trends Are Not Enough

There’s a lot of data available on house prices, and it’s easy to be swayed by national or regional headlines—whether that’s reports of a “market slowdown” or rising property values. While this macroeconomic view is useful, it doesn’t tell you what’s happening on the ground in the specific location where you’re looking to develop.

For example:

• Demand for property types varies locally – A 4-bed detached home might be in high demand regionally, but in a specific town, buyers could be prioritising 2-3 bed homes due to affordability constraints.
• New builds vs second-hand homes – Just because second-hand properties in an area are selling well doesn’t mean new-builds will perform the same way.
• Over saturation - Too many homes on the market, excess of new build, or overall limited demand, can create an over saturated market with a significant knock-on impact on achievable prices and sales rates.
• Local dynamics - It is not uncommon for house prices to vary between, say the East & West of a town, or in some areas even from street to street. These localised variations could make or break a scheme and be easily missed without the right level of focused and detailed research.

Pricing homes is never a science...!

A Smarter Approach: Hyper-Local Research

I recently worked with a regionally based housebuilder to support their preparation for a land bid on a new site. They were considering their pricing strategy and wanted to ensure they were setting the right levels from day one. Rather than just looking at broad regional trends, I carried out detailed, hyper-local market analysis to guide their pricing and mix strategy.

Here’s how we approached it:

1. Feet on the Ground - I took time to visit the area, walk the site, understand how it sits in its surroundings and what opportunities there were to optimise the layout and improve the GDV.
2. Speaking to Local Estate Agents – Agents have first-hand knowledge of buyer demand, local trends & pricing expectations. Their insights were invaluable in understanding local nuances, what was selling and why.
3. Competitor Analysis – I reviewed nearby new-build developments, reviewing pricing, mix and sales rates.
4. Online Market Research – Using platforms like Rightmove, Zoopla, and OnTheMarket, suitable local listings were assessed considering comparability, price movements, and time-on-market trends.
5. Scheme Optimisation – Beyond pricing, we discussed tweaks to the development mix to align with buyer demand, ensuring the homes were designed for real local needs, not just generic assumptions.
6. Industry Understanding - I know the challenges most new development viabilities present, and the critical part sales values play in this. Utilising all the data gathered the client and I spent time working through the scheme, the potential options and discussed in detail the boundaries of pricing and optimum mix to present the best chance of success.

The Outcome?

By taking this locally focused, data-driven approach, the client submitted a confident and competitive land bid that reflected the true market conditions. They were also set up for the next phase of planning with a clear pricing and mix strategy which we will keep under review as the scheme progresses.

The Key Takeaway

Housebuilders who invest in understanding local demand—rather than just working with broader market trends—set themselves up for stronger sales and better profitability.

If you're working on a new scheme and want a data-backed strategy for pricing and development mix, let’s have a chat. A little independent research upfront can make all the difference...