buyers says leading think tank, Policy Exchange.
See the full report on the self build market (Q4 2012) from the Home Building & Renovating team, which shows:
- The number of self build home completions for Q4-2012 was 2,770.
- The total number of self build homes completed in the UK for the year to December 31 2012 was 11,160.
- The self build sector contributed approximately 8% of new housing in 2012 and 28% of all new detached homes.
- Spend on construction materials and services in the self build sector during 2012 was approximately £2.95bn.
Plotfinder Index Q4 2012 - Anaylisis of the market for small development sites.
- The average price for a small development site (primarily sites with planning permission for a single new dwelling) is 3.67 per cent higher than 12 months ago according to price information recorded by the Plotfinder Index.
- The average price for a small development site in Q4-2012 was £199,283.
- The average number of sites available on the open market and listed on Plotfinder.net during Q4-2012 was 3,292 — 21% more than a year earlier.
- The median time taken for a site to sell was 235 days (market to exchange), compared to 272 days 12 months earlier.
The solution to the housing crisis and chronically low level of housebuilding in the UK is to hand over decision making to local communities and create a more politically attractive model of development, proposes a new report ‘A Right to Build’ from leading think tank Policy Exchange.
By marrying a community’s recognition of the need for affordable housing for the next generation and key workers, with the ability to steer planning decisions through Neighbourhood Plans and the Community Right to Build, it is hoped that NIMBYism will be allayed.
Instead of the ‘top down’ approach whereby some communities have vast new estates imposed upon them, whilst others escape with little or no development, people will be able to decide for themselves by majority vote how much new housing they want, where they want it, and how it should look. They can also ensure a proportion of the land for new housing is made available exclusively to locals and those with a connection to the community for affordable self build projects.
Under the Community Right to Build, local communities in England are already able to grant themselves planning permission to develop land that would not otherwise be considered suitable for housebuilding.
Under such a scheme, the landowner receives a price for the site greater than its agricultural or amenity value, and the community secures building land for considerably below-market value. The community can thus create affordable building plots for sale and development as it sees fit.
To control abuse, the report proposes that access to self build plots would be limited to one per household, and that the land could not be used to create a second home. Those who build would have to live in the property for at least five years or pay ‘claw-back’ charges.
The report also proposes a number of policy initiatives to boost the selfbuild sector, and to ensure it remains affordable, including removing Section 106 Agreements — levies on planning gain typically used to fund infrastructure or affordable housing.
It also recommends that the Community Infrastructure Levy be capped at £10,000 per self build home, with 25% going to the local community.
Peter Harris and Nick Noble
For the Homebuilding & Renovating team
