The claim states that "a supposedly affordable new build" in Victoria Collins's constituency costs more than £500,000. This phrasing appears to refer to homes marketed or designated as "affordable" yet still priced above half a million pounds. Evidence gathered: - **General new build prices in Harpenden and Berkhamsted clearly exceed £500,000.** Property listings show new build houses in the Harpenden area ranging from around £585,000 to over £800,000, with luxury apartments and homes exceeding £1 million. Collins's own website states that "a median new build home was over £750,000 last year in Harpenden & Berkhamsted." Independent market reports put Harpenden's median house price around £700,000–£790,000. So the assertion that new builds in the area cost more than £500,000 is broadly accurate for market-rate homes. - **However, the word "affordable" is doing significant work in the claim.** Genuinely affordable housing tenures — shared ownership, First Homes (discounted by at least 30% from market value), affordable rent, and social rent — are structured to cost less than market-rate housing. Several developments in the constituency (e.g., Haresfoot Farm in Berkhamsted, the Redbourn schemes, the Harpenden 550-home development) include 40–50% affordable housing. While the *market value* of those units might exceed £500,000, the actual cost to an eligible purchaser under an affordable scheme (e.g., buying a 25–50% share, or renting at sub-market rates) would typically be substantially lower. - **No public evidence was found confirming that a home officially designated as "affordable" under planning definitions is being sold to buyers at a price above £500,000** in Collins's constituency. The available evidence supports that market-rate new builds are well above £500,000, but it does not substantiate that affordable-tenure homes themselves cost more than £500,000 to purchasers. - The claim is rhetorically ambiguous: "supposedly affordable" may be a commentary on the inadequacy of the affordable housing definition rather than a precise factual statement about the price of a specific affordable unit. But as a factual claim about price, it conflates market-rate new build prices with affordable housing prices. **Conclusion:** The claim is partly true. Market-rate new builds in Harpenden and Berkhamsted do indeed cost well over £500,000, and Collins's own figure of a median new build above £750,000 supports the underlying housing-affordability concern. However, the specific assertion that an "affordable" new build costs more than £500,000 is not substantiated by available evidence, and genuinely affordable housing tenures in the area are designed to be priced below market rates. The claim therefore mixes an accurate observation about high local house prices with an unsupported implication about officially "affordable" homes. Sources: Victoria Collins MP official website (https://www.victoriacollins.uk/news/article/victoria-collins-mp-invites-prime-minister-to-the-impact-of-housing-targets); Hemel Today (https://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/news/politics/disconnected-from-reality-mp-calls-for-urgent-review-of-dacorum-housing-targets-8658624); Herts Advertiser (https://www.hertsad.co.uk/news/26166597.harpenden-mp-calls-urgent-review-housing-targets/); Rightmove new homes listings for Harpenden (https://www.rightmove.co.uk/new-homes-for-sale/Harpenden.html); Construction Capital Harpenden Property Market report (https://construction-capital.co.uk/market-reports/harpenden-hertfordshire-property-market-h1-2026); Haresfoot Farm, Berkhamsted consultation (https://haresfootfarm-consultation.co.uk/proposals/); Richborough Redbourn proposals (https://richborough-redbourn.co.uk/); BBC News – Plans approved for 550 new homes in Harpenden (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8vdy6ynl8o)