Buyers increasingly prefer new builds over second hand properties, new research by the Real Estate Alliance has concluded. 

On The Claire Byrne Show, Cork based estate agent TJ Cronin said the introduction of the BER system in 2007 has gradually changed how people think about house buying. 

If a house has a low BER rating, people think twice about whether they want to live there. 

“They require a higher input from the purchaser's point of view,” he explained. 

“So, with that higher input requirement comes greater cost; if a person is looking at buying a second hand home that has a lower energy efficiency rating, it needs a greater amount of work.

“It needs more time, it needs people to be able to acquire the benefit of a builder or tradespeople, which isn't easily attained in today's market. 

“And the cost of that work is increasing dramatically over the years and continues to increase dramatically over the years.”

Loft insulation. Picture by: Alamy.com.

Mr Cronin added that finding someone to do the work often takes an awful long time as well. 

“We can't get people to quote because they're just too busy,” he said. 

“And they said, ‘If I give you a quote now, by the time actually I'm available by the end of the year, that quote is obsolete - it's obsolete within a couple of months.’” 

By contrast, new builds are regarded as low maintenance and requiring little - if any - additional work. 

“Look, if as a first time buyer, you decide to buy a new home, you're sure of the calibre and the condition of the property that you're buying - it's future proofed,” he said. 

“The added advantage of new homes is that you're buying a property that's a high BER rating so you can qualify for greater green mortgages or eco-friendly mortgages from the various banks. 

“When you look at the second hand properties, you're buying a property with a surveyors structural survey - but that is superficial.”

Main image: New homes under construction. Picture by: Alamy.com.