New builds are "shamefull shoeboxes"

Graham_Devon

Many new houses in the UK are "shameful shoebox homes" which are too small for family life, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has said.

It says average three-bedroom houses are 8% smaller - the space of a single bedroom - than the recommended minimum.

The institute, which looked at 3,418 three-bedroom homes in England, based its findings on building regulations which have come into force in London.

The House Builders Federation says that bigger homes could prove unaffordable.

RIBA's Case for Space study discovered the average two-storey three-bedroom home for five people was 8 sq m (86 sq ft) too small.
It claims the shortfall in space is the same size as a single bedroom with a bedside table, wardrobe, desk and chair.

The most common new three-bedroom house was also found to be only 77% of the recommended minimum - the space equivalent to two double bedrooms.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14909066

Will anything be done? Of course not. Threatened with higher prices again.

Comments are interesting though, as landbanks held by developers to increase land costs etc is being bought up.

JonnyBravo

Graham_Devon wrote: »

Will anything be done? Of course not. Threatened with higher prices again.

Comments are interesting though, as landbanks held by developers to increase land costs etc is being bought up.

Precisely why I have never and will never buy a new build (unless I self build).
"Threatened with higher prices again."?? Stands to logic it will cost more if it's larger though. That's hardly a surprise is it Graham?
Not sure what's the best course of action. I dont think there should be any legislation over room sizes, more a case of if it's too small, don't buy it.

CLAPTON

well, yes those that are biggger are more expensive
where I live, I've noticed that 4 bedroom houses with large gardens near the best state schools are dearer than three bed semis in poorer areas.

if there is a story here it should be about all those stupid government 'initiatives' to offer FTB support to buy new over priced property

wymondham

Yep, thats why we sold our shoebox many years ago and went for a '70s house. Much bigger, it was cheaper, better built, more land and nearer amenities (since most shops were built around that time)......

pinkteapot

We viewed some new-builds when we bought our house last year. We were looking at 4-bed properties. First issue was that we wanted detached and all the new-builds were townhouses. But we looked anyway. Not only were the rooms small but there was no storage at all. You look at a bedroom and think "Ok bed goes there" but then there's no space for a decent number of wardrobes/chests of drawers. You look in the kitchen and go "Where do I store my ironing board and hoover?"

Perhaps builders are catering for the people who mortgage themselves to the hilt and then can't afford to actually buy anything to put in their houses...

We bought a 1990-built 4-bed detached for considerably less than the asking price of the new-build townhouses. We have a garage and room for three cars on the drive (parking on the new-build estates is absolutely atrocious). Every bedroom has a built in wardrobe. Bedrooms 3 and 4 are on the small side but they are still good sized singles (you'd comfortably get a single bed and extra storage units on top of that built in in them. Bedroom 2 is a double and our master bedroom is a great size. Off the kitchen is an enormous under-stairs pantry cupboard.

We don't have kids yet but as and when we do all the storage will be invaluable. We've done a pretty good job of filling it all up already so if we were in a new-build there would just be stuff everywhere.

Pennywise

Not only that the poor sods who buy new builds end up with tiny houses that are barely habitable, (it's well known that the show-houses are furnished with under-sized furniture!), not to mention garages too small to fit a car, and not to mention you have to walk sideways to walk between them, to the postage stamp gardens. But they can't sell the damn things either.

In our area, there are a couple of "new build" sites built within the last decade, and whereas proper houses on proper streets are still selling relatively well with prices holding up, there are loads of houses on the new build sites languishing for sale, 2 years, 3 years, with ever reducing prices, still not selling. We have 3 bed detached built 30 years ago selling for £300k and I mean selling, usually only on the market 3-6 months, and then we have 4 bed detached on the new build estates down to £250k and still not selling.

I'd never, ever, buy a new build until they get their act together and start building what people want again. Proper roads, decent sized rooms, decent sized gardens, etc.

C_Mababejive

One only has to view any construction site to see that modern construction methods are cheaper and quicker. It usually involves nothing more than laying a concrete slab,assembling some pre fabricated wooden framework,some vapour barrier and insulation,and surrounding the lot with brick or block. The internals? well it will be timber framed and plasterboard.

They then do some window dressing by laying some nice lawns and calling it something evocative like badgers sett or throstles nest.

These houses are over priced rubbish. dont buy them...simples.

A couple of months ago i trotted round a construction site in the verge of High Peak in a desireable area. The site had shut down and construction stopped simply because they werent selling.

A peeked through the windows of some almost complete properties..in particular,a row of four mock Georgian three story "town houses". I was shocked to see that you could see from one house into the other as the partition wall had not been finished but that it was being constructed of timber frame!!!

You would be far better off buying a stone or brick terraced home or a semi...Either way,make sure its made of brick!

Graham_Devon

pinkteapot wrote: »

We bought a 1990-built 4-bed detached for considerably less than the asking price of the new-build townhouses. We have a garage and room for three cars on the drive (parking on the new-build estates is absolutely atrocious). Every bedroom has a built in wardrobe. Bedrooms 3 and 4 are on the small side but they are still good sized singles (you'd comfortably get a single bed and extra storage units on top of that built in in them. Bedroom 2 is a double and our master bedroom is a great size. Off the kitchen is an enormous under-stairs pantry cupboard.

This is something not many pick up on. But they still sell houses / flats with one parking space, which isn't any good for today's families, so people end up parking all over the roads.

Happens in my place. And no, I have absolutely zero storage, apart from a tiny cupboard under the stairs, so small, an upright hoover won't stand up in it.

I like to call it cosy :cool:

One of the bigger problems is access down the side of the house between houses. The wheelie bins don't even fit down the alleyway, so we have to have narrower wheelie bins.

I'm not particularly impressed by any of it, but can't do much about it at the mo.

mustrum_ridcully

Perhaps it's time EAs and builders were forced to clearly show number or square feet/meter (with the same prominence as the number of bedrooms) and the price per square foot/meter (with the same prominence as the total price)? They seem to be able to manage it in continental Europe.

IronWolf

Not suprising really, as a developer you know you can get more for a 4 bed house than a 3 bed house, even if the land you build it on and the SQM inside are exactly the same.

Only way to solve it tbh is for the government itself to start building bigger houses and either selling them off, or giving them to councils for council housing. That's a very long term solution though.

crazyguy

First time buyers only,