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UK news. Is building your own house really cheaper than buying a ready built house?
So you're unable to get on the property ladder because it's too expensive. Some say that self build is the cheapest way to have your own house, but is it?
Yes you can build a house for around £30,000 if you do most of the labour yourself, bricklaying, joinery etc and materials for house building are tax free.
The problem is the cost of a plot of land.
In Southwest England an average plot of land for a 3 bed house and small garden is around £150,000 for the cheapest plot. Yet in the same neighbourhood ready built 3 bed houses cost £190,000.
So if you build your own you will only save about £10,000 and most of that will be wasted in planning fees, accommodation etc.
In Northern England self build is still a no brainer. An average plot of land in somewhere like Rotherham or Middlesbourgh for a 3 bed house and small garden may cost from £5000 to £10,000. Plus £30,000 to build the house. Yet a house in the same neighbourhood sells for £35,000 maximum!
As for London self build is not an option as there is no space even if it was, a parking space costs over £150,000!
Is self build a no-brainer?
6 Answers
- Anonymous6 years ago
Actually it's the reason why the housing-stock at the moment is of such poor quality, because some people can build a house, but most can't, and that's when the risk of having build a money-pit surfaces.
Now most of the housing market is still madness, so it'd depend heavily on marketability of the plot, but if you're looking to live in a good house, self-build only works if you're actually skilled, and capable of building that house.
- Rhyaddan-5Lv 66 years ago
Is this a serious question? Do you know how much skill, expertise and material go into constructing a house? This isn't Blue Peter, you know. What next? Shall we save motoring costs by making our own cars out of aluminium foil and a leaf-blower? How about we stick two fingers up at those rob-dogs at the NHS and perform our own surgery using a bottle of gin, a wire coat hanger and a Swiss army knife?
- BluestockingLv 66 years ago
The house builders arte holding the government (and the people) to ransom. It needs a short, sharp shock to get houses built, not land kept back to increase its value.
- Geoff BLv 76 years ago
Laying bricks isn't as easy as you think it is, may be a small garden wall but a house, never.
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- Anonymous6 years ago
You need expertise and common sense too.
