Buy-to-let demand for off-plan homes has fallen to its weakest level in 12 years, according to Hamptons, with the share of new homes sold before completion dropping to 33 percent in 2025. For landlords, the data points to a market where higher stamp duty, thinner margins and a shift away from flats are changing how – and where – investors can enter the new-build sector.
Off-plan sales keep sliding as investor appetite weakens
Hamptons said the share of new homes sold off-plan fell from 36 percent in 2024 to 33 percent in 2025, the lowest level since 2013. The agency links part of that decline to the retreat of buy-to-let investors, who have historically been among the biggest buyers of off-plan flats.
The figures show how much the market has changed since 2016, when 49 percent of new homes were sold before construction finished. Hamptons argues that the original 3 percent second-home stamp duty surcharge, followed by the later rise to 5 percent, hit investor demand hardest in southern markets where margins were already tighter.
Landlord Knowledge recently reported that landlords account for most Stamp Duty receipts in 164 councils, underlining how exposed investors remain to transaction taxes. Hamptons’ off-plan data suggests that tax drag is still shaping behaviour years after those charges first arrived.
Why flats matter more than houses for landlords
The off-plan slowdown is also tied to what builders are producing. Flats made up 54 percent of new homes sold in 2007, 38 percent in 2016 and just 22 percent by 2025. That matters because flats are far more likely than houses to be sold before completion and have long been the main route for many landlords buying new-build stock.
In 2025, 55 percent of flats were sold off-plan, compared with 40 percent of terraced houses, 29 percent of semis and 21 percent of detached homes. The strongest flat markets were in the North West, where 69 percent sold off-plan, and in London, where the figure still reached 65 percent despite softer investor demand overall.
This follows Landlord Knowledge’s recent coverage of Manchester topping buy-to-let rankings, which showed why landlord demand is now clustering in stronger-yielding regional markets. The Hamptons figures support that shift. Off-plan demand has not vanished, but it is moving toward areas where pricing and yield still stack up.
For landlords, the warning is that the new-build pipeline is becoming less investor-friendly. Builders are leaning more heavily toward lower-density schemes and faster-selling houses, partly because finance costs are eating into margins on large flat-led developments. That leaves investors with fewer off-plan opportunities and less choice in the product that does come through.
The wider market effect could be awkward. If fewer flats are built and fewer are sold off-plan, the supply of landlord-friendly new-build stock may tighten further. That is not good news for investors trying to add energy-efficient property without taking on refurbishment risk.
What this means for landlords
- If you’re targeting new-build stock: expect fewer off-plan opportunities, especially in southern flat markets.
- Watch for: whether developers keep cutting apartment schemes in favour of houses with quicker sales rates.
- Bottom line: off-plan still works in some regional markets, but it is no longer the easy buy-to-let route it was a decade ago.
Editor’s view
The headline is not just that off-plan sales are down. It is that the shape of the new-build market is shifting away from the type of stock landlords have relied on. If that continues, buying modern, efficient rental property gets harder and more expensive.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 11 May 2026
Sources: Hamptons, Connells Group, HM Land Registry
Related reading: Manchester tops buy-to-let rankings for 2026
