The Self Build Market
Self-build provides housing that is in tune with people's specific housing requirements. The number of self-build homes has risen substantially over the past 20 years.
A recent Joseph Rowntree foundation study found:
- The number of 'self-build' homes completed each year has risen from around 2,000 in 1978 to an estimated 15,000 in 1999 (8.3% of total new houses).
- The most recent market research reports that the average self-build home cost almost £150,000 in 1999, including land.
- The average South East price for a self-build plot in early 2000 was £100,000
There is no official data on self-build and estimates of its market size currently range from 10,000 to 25,000 houses per year. The study estimates that about 15,000 homes were self-built in 1999, representing 8.3 per cent of total new houses.
Self-build tends to be more prevalent in the less urban parts of the UK and in areas where the market for speculative house building is relatively small.
Land-price inflation in the late 1980s and late 1990s constrained expansion in self-build. However, the growth in the self-build market has only partly been driven by changes in the wider land and housing market. Other factors were involved in the growth since 1991:
- Relatively well-off households seeking more individuality from their homes entered the self-build market.
- Financing self-build projects became more straightforward after the mid-1990s as some mortgage lenders saw there was a viable business.
The general public was introduced to the idea of self-build by the mainstream media, a burgeoning specialist press and regular exhibitions.
