Self build and the anger of the NIMBYs

ruggedtoast

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2013/03/alex-morton-lets-have-more-self-build-housing-and-quick.html

Before 1947 self-build housing was much more common. From village worker cottages to Bath Royal Crescent, self-build homes were how much of our most attractive homes were created. Our current system is the result of the 1945 dream of every home planned, built and owned by the council. Unsurprisingly, it has turned out to be a nightmare.

Unfortunately its a nightmare that has turned into a veritable wet dream for landlords and many of the boomer generation. The amount they can make from their asset suddenly disassociated from any kind of market economics.

Supply and demand obviously inform prices, and nobody cares about the price of Ferraris being kept high because the expense if part of their point

Housing is not the same, its a basic commodity in a market which is rigged. Increased demand is not leading to increased supply.

A builder jealously hoarding a land bank, then eventually building some pre-fab toy town on it which is sold off through a baffling array of fractionalised Shared Ownership and Help to Buy options to desperate Millennials on 60 year mortgages, is not going to alleviate the housing crisis.

If builders think they are suddenly competing against other people who can build then prices will fall and quality will rise.

CLAPTON

ruggedtoast wrote: »

http://conservativehome.blogs.com/platform/2013/03/alex-morton-lets-have-more-self-build-housing-and-quick.html



Unfortunately its a nightmare that has turned into a veritable wet dream for landlords and many of the boomer generation. The amount they can make from their asset suddenly disassociated from any kind of market economics.

Supply and demand obviously inform prices, and nobody cares about the price of Ferraris being kept high because the expense if part of their point

Housing is not the same, its a basic commodity in a market which is rigged. Increased demand is not leading to increased supply.

A builder jealously hoarding a land bank, then eventually building some pre-fab toy town on it which is sold off through a baffling array of fractionalised Shared Ownership and Help to Buy options to desperate Millennials on 60 year mortgages, is not going to alleviate the housing crisis.

If builders think they are suddenly competing against other people who can build then prices will fall and quality will rise.

From this post one would never guess that the great majority of our greatly expanded population, have a vastly better standard of housing now than prewar.

michaels

Locally there is a proposal to split a plot in to two, leaving the current house and in effect building on half the garden. This has been done on the mirror image plot on the other side of the road and on several other of the similar corner plots with the same configuration on the nearby streets.

However every neighbour within 5 house on both streets seems to be objecting on the grounds that it is 'over development', will lead to increased traffic, that the houses may be rented out, etc etc. yes we all want to keep things exactly as they are and would rather not have a single extra family moved in to 'our nice neighbourhood' but this just illustrates why we have a housing shortage and why prices are so high; there are huge political incentives not to build and very little incentive to do so as those who are unable to find a house to live in in an area are obviously also unable to vote in that area...

grizzly1911

michaels wrote: »

Locally there is a proposal to split a plot in to two, leaving the current house and in effect building on half the garden. This has been done on the mirror image plot on the other side of the road and on several other of the similar corner plots with the same configuration on the nearby streets.

However every neighbour within 5 house on both streets seems to be objecting on the grounds that it is 'over development', will lead to increased traffic, that the houses may be rented out, etc etc. yes we all want to keep things exactly as they are and would rather not have a single extra family moved in to 'our nice neighbourhood' but this just illustrates why we have a housing shortage and why prices are so high; there are huge political incentives not to build and very little incentive to do so as those who are unable to find a house to live in in an area are obviously also unable to vote in that area...

I think it is very altruistic of the owner to provide a plot from within their curtilage. Who said philanthropy is dead?

lostinrates

One of the interesting things against self build in the types of property we looked at is the huge, huge dominance of uplift clauses, so that buyers prepared to take the investment and build must sacrifice profit to sellers who were not prepared to do it themselves.

wymondham

<turn on the motivational music in the background, getting louder!>

Self builds could be great - imagine people having a say in their homes look and build rather than just buying box 143 or 146? Bring back individualism to homes that what I say - make houses that look interesting again!

often wondered why no new homes are built like old bay windowed terraced houses - these would look fab, especially if done to look old?

CLAPTON

wymondham wrote: »

<turn on the motivational music in the background, getting louder!>

Self builds could be great - imagine people having a say in their homes look and build rather than just buying box 143 or 146? Bring back individualism to homes that what I say - make houses that look interesting again!

often wondered why no new homes are built like old bay windowed terraced houses - these would look fab, especially if done to look old?

not entirely sure how the average self builder would choose a terrace house

Thrugelmir

lostinrates wrote: »

One of the interesting things against self build in the types of property we looked at is the huge, huge dominance of uplift clauses, so that buyers prepared to take the investment and build must sacrifice profit to sellers who were not prepared to do it themselves.

Doesn't help matters when it comes to a mortgage either.

kabayiri

I think self-build does have a rightful place.

I also think modern, high quality mobile homes should also have a place.

They don't all have to look like a traveller's worst example. Modern transportable homes could greatly ease the problem of shortage of key workers in economic hotspots.

Why can't we innovate in housing like in other areas ?

CLAPTON

kabayiri wrote: »

I think self-build does have a rightful place.

I also think modern, high quality mobile homes should also have a place.

They don't all have to look like a traveller's worst example. Modern transportable homes could greatly ease the problem of shortage of key workers in economic hotspots.

Why can't we innovate in housing like in other areas ?

It would seem to me that there is little stopping self build or indeed mobile homes except the shortage of land with planning permission

wymondham

CLAPTON wrote: »

not entirely sure how the average self builder would choose a terrace house

self builder friends?