Research conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE) on behalf of housebuilder Barratt and industry body the National House Building Council (NHBC) found new properties had "little discernible and consistent impact" on local house prices.
The study - Understanding the Local Impact of New Residential Development - looked at eight developments of 300 units or fewer built by Barratt over the past five years in Essex, Hampshire, Sandwell, Solihull, and West Sussex.
It was specifically commissioned to examine whether new development had a dampening effect on the increase in value of existing homes in the neighbourhood.
In particular, the research found that new development "may stabilise or even increase prices in the immediate areas". The LSE said immediate areas referred to surrounding streets and the "broader three/four-digit postcode districts".
The report added that opposition to controversial new development "tended to decrease" once works were completed, and that "at least half" of all eventual purchasers of the new homes had lived within a five-mile radius of the developments.
Its authors said that in seven of the eight sites monitored, there was no observable dip in local property prices while construction on the new homes was under way.
In five of the study areas, existing homes neighbouring the new development areas rose "somewhat faster" in value, compared with properties in the wider area.
The report's authors cautioned that the project had been a pilot study and its findings were based on "quite small numbers of transactions" at a time when markets were affected by the credit crunch and subsequent recession.
Philip Barnes, group land and planning director at Barratt Developments, said the firm had been keen to understand the potential financial impact of new development on existing homes.
"Whilst this is a small sample, it is reassuring that new housing developments appear to have little discernible impact on local house price patterns, indeed in some areas can boost local market confidence," he said.
NHBC head of research and innovation Neil Smith said the research challenged the assumption that new-build properties adversely affected local house prices.