Buyers stunned after house prices suddenly hiked by up to £20,000 in Harborough district village - just as they were ready to buy

People buying new homes in a Harborough district village have been stunned to have had the price suddenly hiked by up to £20,000 just as they were gearing up to seal the deal.

Prospective buyers across the region have been looking forward to moving into their “dream” new homes on the Shire Homes Fleckney Meadows estate in Fleckney for the last nine months.

But they are now being told at the last minute that they’ve got to fork out thousands of pounds more for their houses due to rising inflation and the increasing cost of building materials.

Today Shane Earle, 25, told the Harborough Mail: “This beggars belief – it’s just not good enough.

“I just cannot believe the way that we’ve been treated – it’s totally unacceptable.

“It’s no wonder that so many people in the same boat as us over this are also absolutely outraged.”

He said he and his partner Chloe Holloway, 26, put down £500 to snap up the two-bed semi-detached property at Fleckney Meadows for £220,000 last June.

“We were living together on a narrowboat at North Kilworth until last April but left the boat to move in with our parents to save money.

“We’ve been looking forward to moving in ever since as the new houses are built,” said Shane, an office assistant in Fleckney.

“But just a day before we were due to officially sign the contract for the house on Thursday February 17 we got a call out of the blue from the estate agent Fraser Stretton.

“They demanded another £20,000 from us, taking the price up to £240,000, just like that.

“We were so shocked as you can imagine, absolutely stunned.

“So we were just expected to fork out an extra £20,000 on the spur of the moment?

“We were going to try to secure a bigger mortgage because as first-time buyers we really did want this house.

“Your home is right at the centre of your lives after all,” said Shane, who said Chloe works at a local Sainsbury store.

“But we’ve now decided that we just can’t afford this house now.

“It’s very upsetting for both of us and we are very angry because it’s been very badly handled.

“But we can’t go ahead with it now – it’s left such a bad taste in our mouths.

“This isn’t the ethical or moral way to go about doing business.

“We were hit by a price increase nudging 10 per cent so late in the day,” said Shane.

“If we’d been looking at paying £240,000 for a two-bed semi last June I’d have turned it down straight away.

“We have been messed about and I’m sure that a lot of other people in the same position as us feel exactly the same way.”

Flavio Dias, 39, told the Mail that he’s also been targeted by the dramatic 11th hour price hike.

The Brazilian-born dad-of-two said: “We reserved plot 34, a three-bed semi, at Fleckney Meadows for £260,000 last June.

“We’ve been renting a house in Kibworth for £950-a-month for the last four years and have been counting the days until we actually moved into our own home.

“But now just weeks before we are ready to move in the estate agent has put up the price by another £15,000 – making it £275,000.

“We’ve been left totally heartbroken by this terrible news, it’s devastating for all of us,” said Flavio, a healthcare assistant.

“We are trying to get support from the Help to Buy scheme as well and we’re going to struggle to afford this house now.

“It’s just entirely unacceptable and I find it so hard to believe.

“I’ve got a wife and two children and we’ve all been so happy since we agreed to buy this house,” said Flavio.

“My wife works in Fleckney and it would be great for her living there.

“But right now we don’t know what we’re doing.

“It’s a nightmare for me and my poor family – and it is simply not fair.”

Harborough MP Neil O’Brien told the Mail today: "I’ve been very concerned to hear these reports from constituents about Shire Homes jacking up the price of new homes at the very last moment before sale.

“Of course, we all know that inflation is a factor - but that has been an issue for a year now.

“So I am yet to hear a sensible explanation for the short notice given to prospective buyers at a point where they have invested so much time and money into the process already and already done work to customise their new homes.

“I accept and understand that the builders would have faced increased costs and challenges in the last 12 months,” said the Conservative MP.

“But this needs to be communicated to buyers at the earliest possible opportunity to see if they still want to and are able to proceed, not at the 11th hour.

“While very surprisingly I am yet to hear back directly from the developers on this, I’m grateful to Fraser Stretton for getting in touch to explain the position from their perspective as they carry out the instructions issued to them by Shire Homes.”

Leicester-based Fraser Stretton told the Mail they have been instructed by Shire Homes to “assist with the marketing and selling of their new homes at Fleckney Meadows”.

“We are not the developers but the appointed estate agents for the selling aspect of the development.

“The site was launched in June 2021 and since then residents have moved in to seven new homes up to and including the end of January.

“Last week Shire Homes called a meeting with ourselves to advise that due to spiralling costs of materials and labour shortages they were not in a position to be able to sell the next phase of plots at the original marketed price and therefore a price increase needed to be communicated to all parties concerned,” said a Fraser Streeton spokesman.

“These originally were reserved off plan and were below market value.

“An important point to note is that, contrary to what has been quoted by one of the buyers, the plots in questions were not due to exchange the following day or in 24 hours - no exchange dates had been agreed between the legal teams of both parties.

“Fraser Stretton have communicated verbally and face to face with parties affected by this and are working through to try and find a solution that satisfies all parties concerned ie. the developers and the prospective buyers,” added the spokesman.

Speaking to the Mail through Fraser Stretton, a Shire Homes spokeswoman said: “The building trade has experienced unprecedented increases in costs during the past 12 months.

“Materials alone have increased by over 20 per cent, with ongoing labour shortages also increasing employment costs.

“Shire Homes have tried to absorb these costs by efficiencies and redesigning the site layout.

“However, having reviewed these efforts it was apparent that they are not sufficient.

“Reluctantly we have therefore been forced to increase the cost of a small number of properties which were currently below the market value,” said the spokeswoman.

“Having put a plan in place for the next 12 months we do believe that this is a one-off action.

“We are trying to work with those affected to see if we can agree an outcome that suits all parties concerned.

“Our estate agents and solicitors have merely carried out instructions at the direct behest of Shire Homes.”