Existing homes have risen some eight per cent in value in the past year while the price of a typical new build is now 28 per cent more than 12 months ago.

The current average price of an existing home in Britain is £272,851; by contrast the average price of a new-build has risen from £330,662 to £422,414 – up by well over a quarter.

The gap is even greater in some regions. 

Landlords buying an average new-build home in Wales will now pay 34 per cent more than a year ago, while existing homes have seen capital appreciation of 11 per cent.

In Scotland, new-build inflation has been 29 per cent – existing homes are only seven per cent more expensive to buy now than 12 months ago.

However a spokesman for Unlatch – the organisation behind the research and an advocate of new homes – says: “Investors on the whole do prefer to go for a new build property for many reasons, one more being that by the time said investor completes on their purchase, the agent usually already has a tenant lined up to move in; meaning no void periods. 

“In a fast, frantic, and highly competitive housing market, new-builds also offer more reliability in terms of the actual purchase itself. Fewer sales are subject to falling through as a result of unwanted discoveries during the surveying process, as well as the fact there is no dreaded chain to contend with.”