How to get your dream home for half the price
Following a series of house price indexes showing record house prices (most recently from Halifax) and the potential for planning policy change in the future, GetAgent looked at the cost of building an average sized 5-bedroom home in different regions of England, and compared it to the cost of buying the average 5-bed in the same area.
The results are surprising. In almost every area you'll be significantly better off if you choose to build your dream home from scratch, rather than buy one.
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Key Findings
Highest savings in London, where in some areas building a home could save you over £7 million on the cost of buying. For example, if you’re lucky enough to be able to find a plot of land in Westminster, you could build an average sized 5-bed home for £7.165 million less than the average asking price. In Kensington & Chelsea, you could save £6.955 million building your own.
As a percentage of the average asking price the London borough offering the highest savings is Redbridge. Here it is 80.4% (£2.396 million) cheaper to build your own property than it is to buy.
Outside of London you find the best savings in the East and South East, with savings of almost £1.27 million in Guildford (71%), and over 67% in
Woking (£1.08 million).
Other areas with a saving over 60% include:
Oxford - 69%
Horsham - 67%
Tunbridge Wells - 65%
Sevenoaks - 64%
Cheltenham - 64%
Winchester - 61%
St Albans - 61%
Watford - 60%
Warwick - 60%
Worst savings in the North East, and North West, where in many cases it’s actually cheaper to buy a 5-bed home than to build one yourself. For example you’ll save 59% (£164,535) in Blackpool by buying rather than building, and 41% in Redcar & Cleveland (£127,175)
Please see an interactive map of our findings at: www.getagent.co.uk/cheaper-to-build-or-buy
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CEO, and co-founder, Colby Short commented: ‘The apparent low cost of building a home might make it seem like an enticing prospect for those who are struggling to get on the property ladder. But, it’s important to remember: building your own home is not an easy feat.
Before you rush out to buy land, get advice about how easy it will be to build your dream home on it. You’ll have to meet local planning regulations, and potentially consider extra costs like demolition, or hooking up your new home to utility networks.
However, if you’re up for the challenge, there are some great benefits. If you stick tightly to your budget, it can be significantly cheaper, plus you can claim back the VAT on any construction costs. You’ll also have control over the design, style, and standard of the home you ultimately move into.’
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Notes to Editor
Average land values: gov.uk, 'Land value estimates' published 18th Aug 2020. These values are estimates of ‘typical’ residential sites. Market values of individual sites are highly sensitive to plot-specific characteristics.
Average 5 bed size: EPC Register - taken to be 183.75 m2
Average construction costs, based on research from: Architecture for London, Build It, the Financial Times & Urbanist Architecture, taken to be an average of £1,800 per square metre.
Average 5-bed house price: GetAgent.co.uk
GetAgent pulls data from all of the major portals which are then cross-referenced with the Land Registry using their proprietary algorithms and input from partner agents.
We’ve also included a 30% ‘contingency’ cost into each self-build calculation
GetAgent is the UK’s leading data-driven estate agent comparison website.
For further information please contact: rosie@getagent.co.uk