Self-building a home is becoming a mainstream proposition and saves borrowers an average of £50,000, according to self-build specialist, BuildStore.
The firm’s latest UK Self-Build Cost Index compares the cost of building a four-bedroom house with the cost of buying a similar house in the same area in different counties. It shows that in 64 out of 76 counties, people who built their own homes made significant savings.
The top county for saving is Shropshire, where an average four-bedroom self-build would save £148,033.
John Hay, marketing and product development director of BuildStore, noted this was because land prices were still low in the county, at an average £60,200 for a plot, while pre-built house prices had rocketed.
The next four counties for savings were: Greater London at £123,567, Devon at £120,509, Essex at £117,837 and Norfolk at £116,975.
Hay said: ‘The savings are increasing year-on-year because as house prices and land have both gone up substantially, the price of building a home has only risen in line with inflation. Self-build is becoming even better value. We have seen a movement towards self-build becoming part of a broker’s normal product range. It has become easier to get both finance and materials together.’
There are no accurate figures at the moment for the popularity of self-build.
Hay said: ‘Figures are based on VAT returns, but there are around17,000 self-builds and 3,000 major renovations annually. The biggest potential for growth is in replacement dwellings, buying a house and replacing it on the same land, especially in the South East.’
