With the cost of living continually rising, buying a new home could be more of an investment than you think.

And now couldn't be a better time to buy, as John Elliott, managing director of Millwood Designer Homes, explains.

With a national shortage of new homes, there is insufficient supply to meet demand. We are building fewer homes now than at any time since 1923 and this shortage will cause house prices to rise.

New homes are as technically advanced as you could expect in terms of energy efficiency and who can afford not to have regard for energy efficiency when recent analysis by the Bank of England suggested the UK will see a 15 per cent rise in domestic gas prices and a 10 per cent rise in domestic electricity prices in the next 12 months?

This will be just another blow for homeowners who have witnessed soaring energy prices and maintenance charges.

Utility bills have rocketed almost 20 per cent since 2008, while repairs have gone up by 17 per cent.

Excluding mortgages, housing-related expenditure increased by 13 per cent between March 2008 and March 2011, more than the 10 per cent rise in inflation. The last round of fuel price increases ended in March, when fuel bills rose by an average of six per cent.

Further rises are expected, with blame falling on the crisis in the Middle East and the recent Japanese tsunami and nuclear disaster.

This is bad timing for homeowners after the Bank of England recently signalled even more misery with a likely rise in interest rates.

Due to new building standards that were introduced in 2006 and 2010, new homes are now 40 per cent more energy efficient than those built at the beginning of the decade.

Highly-efficient heating systems all help to create houses that are comfortable to live in and economical to run. Under-floor heating is very efficient. There are no radiators or heaters on show, no maintenance and the heat is distributed evenly.

Induction hobs, low-energy fittings and reduced-flow-rate valves for water consumption are just some of the things that help reduce your living costs as well as rainwater recycling systems and photo voltaic and ground-source heat pumps using geo-thermal energy.

Through Millwood's unique Design & Build Private Clients service, we are building new homes for a number of individuals.

To see the range of Millwood properties available go to http://www.mdh.uk.com/