Yes, have bought an ex showhome, but you do have to choose your builder carefully (actually not the building company, but quality of their site manager)
Upstairs is great, 4 bedrooms, all with built in wardrobes, big walk in shower in ours and we have a 6 foot bed in it and plenty of space. House is just under 1600 square feet.
Downstairs the layout isn’t that well thought out, we have a second snug lounge, but the main Kitchen-dinner is L shaped and kitchen isn’t that practical. It’s a family home with relatively small built in fridge-freezer etc. We had to add extra cupboards.
Being an ex showhome, was better decorated, and garage is part insulated (as it spent 18 months as the sales centre), garden was properly stocked with plants etc, but there are some cracks where top of wall meets ceiling. It does have advantages, in last 6 months (autumn and winter) only cost £650 for gas and electric (with thermostats set to 21.5c), as its well insulated.
Would I buy another new house, maybe, but never from the smaller or cheaper end of the range
Our builder sorted out initial niggles really fast
But if we did buy another house, we now know where to look for cost cutting (check quality of window handles, do taps splash floor in bathroom because sink is small, quality of internal door handles and hinges, how many shelves in airing cupboard, how many rows of paving slabs does patio have, size of freezer, did they use 6 inch duct on kitchen cooker hood to reduce noise, does it have any solar panels, is it underfloor heating or cheapest radiators, are their data cables from router position to TVs locations and study to avoid using wifi, is there fibre broadband to house etc.
Whatever home you are looking to buy, try and work out where you will put 10 key items which you won’t use everyday, as it shows if design has any practicality or should be avoided : Suitcases, ironing board, vacuum cleaner, wellington boots, winter coats, box of Christmas decorations, lawnmower, broom + mop, clothes airer / drying rack, shopping bags / rucksacks.