Do we really need more affordable housing 'starter homes'?

michaels

So looking at the stats may show that the majority of the homeless are single people looking for a first home and conclude that therefore we need more affordable single person homes - QED

But suppose that actually all the 1 bed houses are occupied but families who need two beds but can't afford it because all the 2 beds are filled with larger families who need three beds but can't afford it because all the 3 beds etc etc. Plus some of the larger houses are filled with older people who would ideally like to move to a bungalow on a decent plot but because of the increasing ageing population there are not enough becoming available.

So what there is actually a shortage of is 2 bed bungalows and larger family home sand if these were built then smaller homes would come free for the homeless and the market woudl correct in a way that just building thousands of new apartments will not solve.

As evidence I would point to the boom in house extensions in many parts of the country as demonstrating the lack of larger homes and the fact that the elderly are not moving into bungalows but instead having their houses transformed into downstairs living accommodation showing the lack of bungalows.

westernpromise

Probably correct. Also don't forget stamp duty. To downsize from a £1.5 million home to a £1 million home would, for my mother, entail spending twice ax much on stamp duty as she originally paid for the house. Add in the money needed to redecorate and refit the whole place to the standard of what she's selling and she ends up with a smaller house, a huge tax bill and not that much cash. It's cheaper and easier to create a 1-bed downstairs flat within the existing house.

LydiaJ

It probably varies across different areas of the country. Developers round here seem to be thinking more or less along the lines you suggest, michaels - the only apartments I've seen going up are retirement complexes, and there are loads of those.

Sea_Shell

All these massive "living area" extensions aren't helping either. Modest 3 bed houses...which "might" have been affordable to a family, have been extended to make them much bigger, thus worth much more, which is great for the owner, but no so great for that next family looking to buy.

All the 2/3 bed bungalows around here are being bought up, extended into the loft, and to the side, making them into 4 bed family homes, making a bob or two for the owner, and another bungalow disappears forever.

Large, but old and in need of work, house near us, on the market approx 3 years ago for £500,000. Has now been fully refurbished, extended etc, and is now back on the market for £800,000!!!!

This is not solving the housing crisis!!!

kabayiri

LydiaJ wrote: »

It probably varies across different areas of the country. Developers round here seem to be thinking more or less along the lines you suggest, michaels - the only apartments I've seen going up are retirement complexes, and there are loads of those.

I agree with Lydia.

I'm not convinced that a region like the NW suffers from the same problems as the home counties/London.

Maybe we need more local solutions.

kabayiri

Sea_Shell wrote: »

All these massive "living area" extensions aren't helping either. Modest 3 bed houses...which "might" have been affordable to a family, have been extended to make them much bigger, thus worth much more, which is great for the owner, but no so great for that next family looking to buy.

All the 2/3 bed bungalows around here are being bought up, extended into the loft, and to the side, making them into 4 bed family homes, making a bob or two for the owner, and another bungalow disappears forever.

Large, but old and in need of work, house near us, on the market approx 3 years ago for £500,000. Has now been fully refurbished, extended etc, and is now back on the market for £800,000!!!!

This is not solving the housing crisis!!!

There is also dramatic conversion of outbuildings.

There's a house near me where they have built a very impressive separate garage.

I'm not quite sure why a garage would need feature windows and velux style windows in the pitch roof though.

A cynic might suggest they are hoping it could be converted into living quarters when local planners allow.

I confess to your first point though. Maybe the extension was over-large, but I was more interested in addressing limitations with the existing use of space.

kabayiri

I think we need to look at high tech solutions which can create dwellings within weeks, not many months.

Shipping container sized pods could be designed to be living units. They could be docked and undocked from fixed locations, and carted around the country depending on changing need. The fact they fit on container ships could mean they were constructed in bulk in cheap locations, further reducing cost.

Rinoa

The average UK house size is already the smallest in Europe.

By making developers build even more starter homes we just compound the problem. Crazy.

daveyjp

kabayiri wrote: »

I think we need to look at high tech solutions which can create dwellings within weeks, not many months.

Shipping container sized pods could be designed to be living units. They could be docked and undocked from fixed locations, and carted around the country depending on changing need. The fact they fit on container ships could mean they were constructed in bulk in cheap locations, further reducing cost.

Even containers need fixed infrastructure.

LHW99

Quote:
Originally Posted by kabayiri
I think we need to look at high tech solutions which can create dwellings within weeks, not many months.

Shipping container sized pods could be designed to be living units. They could be docked and undocked from fixed locations, and carted around the country depending on changing need. The fact they fit on container ships could mean they were constructed in bulk in cheap locations, further reducing cost.

Even containers need fixed infrastructure.

Wouldn't these just be more basic versions of mobile homes?

kabayiri

daveyjp wrote: »

Even containers need fixed infrastructure.

It's a different use of the space. It's certainly not a panacea.

I'm not fixed on ideas, but somehow we need a quantum leap in productivity when it comes to home construction.

Year on year we are simply not creating enough. Even homelessness could be on the increase. A borough like Newham has the highest homeless figures in London, and it's also set to be one of the biggest growth areas within a decade.

At best, we are playing catch up.