New research from the Halifax shows that the average price of new build property has more than doubled in the last ten years, rising by 116% from £70,518 to £153,010.

Regionally, the biggest rise in the average price of a new property has been in the South East where there has been a 166% increase, exceeding the 154% gains in both Greater London and the South West. The smallest rise has been in Scotland, which has seen an increase of 48%.)

At the same time, new houses across the UK represented 8.3% of all properties sold in 2001, lower than in any of the previous nine years. Typically, new houses represent approximately 11% of all sales.

The key findings of the Halifax research are as follows:

Less new homes than before - the number of new homes built in Great Britain 2001 was 162,600. This was 4% lower than in the previous year and lower than in any other year since 1950. In England, there was a 5% fall last year as the number of new homes built declined for the fourth successive year. If house building in England continues at last year's level there will be a shortfall of over 400,000 homes to cater for the additional three million households projected by the Government between now and 2021. Moreover, there is a sharp north/south divide with an estimated deficit of over 450,000 in London and the South East if house building remains at 2001 levels.

Detached homes are the most popular type of new house - far more detached homes are built than any other type of new house or flat. Almost half of the new properties sold in the first three months of 2002 were detached houses. This compared with just over a third 10 years ago. Nationally, new properties accounted for 25% of all detached sales in the first quarter of this year, far exceeding the proportions of total terraced and semi-detached sales (both 6%), bungalows (5%) and flats and maisonettes (13%).

More new homes in some parts of the country than others - there are some significant differences in the relative importance of new homes across the country. For example, new properties have consistently accounted for a much higher proportion of all sales in Northern Ireland than anywhere on the British mainland. In 2001, new houses represented 25% of total residential property sales. At the other end of the spectrum, new houses account for a far smaller proportion of the housing market in Greater London than elsewhere in the UK. Last year, new houses represented only 4% of all sales (5.3% average during 1991-2000). New houses also account for a relatively small part of the market in the South East and the South West.

Flats are number one in London - while detached houses dominate the new homes market across most of the UK this is not the case in Greater London where the overwhelming majority of new properties are flats (nearly two-thirds).

Martin Ellis, Halifax Estate Agents Economist, said: "Despite the obvious popularity of new homes there has been a clear shortage of new properties available on the market over the past year, which has undoubtedly contributed to the recent rapid rise in house prices. The rate of house building must increase significantly from last year's record low in order to meet the requirements for extra homes over the coming 20 years."