The state of the UK housing market has been widely lamented and reported on over the last 10–15 years, as the UK government continuously fails to meet recommendations and targets to improve the availability and affordability of housing.
With so few opportunities for social mobility, and a lack of stability even for those who manage to make it onto the property ladder, it may seem like there’s not much hope for buying a house – but what about building one?
Self-building gives people the opportunity to create a custom house that caters exactly to their individual needs, including space, facilities, and energy efficiency. So why aren’t more people in the UK going down this route?
After all, it’s very popular in countries throughout Europe. Many have a self-build rate exceeding 60% of new build homes, with Austria leading the pack and Belgium, Italy, and Sweden following – even Ireland is close behind. Meanwhile, the UK has the lowest self-build rate in the world, at just 11%.
There could be many reasons for this, such as a lack of knowledge about self-building or concerns about financing a self-build. Let’s take a look at what the statistics say about attitudes and options surrounding self-building in the UK to learn more.
Does ‘Self-Build’ Mean Actually Building A House Yourself?
If asked to think about self-building, many people may imagine someone digging out foundations and laying bricks by themselves. Or, if they’ve heard off-putting stories about the risks of self-building, they might think of someone living in a caravan on a muddy plot, chasing cowboy builders to finish their half-built house.
Neither of these scenarios is necessarily accurate. Though a self-build project is certainly a substantial undertaking, there are many ways to do it that don’t require personal building experience or a management degree.
A Building Societies Association report on self-build lending information found that only 3% of those homes were completely DIY, while the majority (39%) were self-managed projects involving their own labour combined with subcontractors.
In many of these cases, the self-builder delegated to traders they arranged themselves, with many hiring builders for the structure and completing the interior themselves. Only 12% were completed by a professional builder without the self-builder doing any significant work.
Interestingly, 14% were ‘kit homes’ – now more commonly known as modular houses – which involve purchasing a ‘flat-pack’ pre-designed house from a company that supplies the prefabricated materials and installation after the buyer has prepared the ground.
However, modular housing isn’t typically counted as self-build since it’s mostly built off-site. The usual self-build model relies on a combination of builders, subcontractors, and project managers – whether the individual wants to take a hands-on approach or commission a development team.
What Are Self-Build Homes In The UK Like?
The 2022 Custom and Self-Build Market Survey by the National Custom and Self-Build Association (NaCSBA) revealed that the majority of self-builders take the lead on decisions for building materials (64%) and finishing materials (82.7%). Here are the choices respondents made:
- Brick and mortar is the most popular system for self-builds (35%), followed by prefabricated timber frames (19%)
- Render is the most popular external finishing (31%), with brick close behind (27%), followed by timber cladding (19%)
- Slate is the most popular roofing material (31%), followed by clay tiles or concrete tiles (19% and 18%, respectively)
- Timber alternative (uPVC) is the most popular window frame material (36%), followed by aluminium (26%) and timber (20%)
- Gas is the most popular option for central heating systems (43%), followed by air-source heat pumps (5%)
When it comes to size and cost, the report also revealed that over the previous five years, the average self-build house was 268m2, and the average budget was £312,000.
That said, around 15% of self-builders reported going over budget, though the main reason for this was deciding to improve the specifications partway through the project.
Around 45% of respondents also required financial support to complete their self-build project – but only 65% of these used a self-build mortgage. This suggests that there is not enough awareness of specialist lending options for self-build homes.
Who Is More Likely To Want A Self-Build Home In The UK?
According to a 2020 Self-Build Aspirations Research survey commissioned by the NaCSBA and BSA, around a third (32%) of adults in Great Britain are interested in self-building a home. Of these, 29% said it was fairly likely to very likely that they would go on to build their own home in the future.
It may be unsurprising, considering the economic turbulence during which they’re entering adulthood, that the age group with the highest proportion (48%) expressing interest in self-building were 18–24 years old – 41% of whom said they were likely to build their own home in the future.
These results were consistent with a separate 2020 Self Build Market Research survey by the Ipswich Building Society, which found that 35% of the 2,000 adult respondents expressed that they would consider building their own homes at some point. Again, the age group expressing the most interest was the 18–24-year-old group.
This suggests a surge in self-build projects may be on the cards if economic circumstances and government support improve for the younger generation of upcoming first-time homebuyers.
What Are The Barriers To Self-Building In The UK?
In 2022, the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research released a review of Self-build and Custom Housebuilding in the UK. Of the research compiled in this report, the section on barriers and constraints suggests that the three main reasons for the UK’s low number of self-builders are:
- Difficulties with raising funds
- Planning system complications
- Undeveloped awareness of self-building
These findings are backed up by the (more recent) aforementioned NaCSBA Custom & Self Build Market Report, which found that the biggest obstacles for self-builders in the UK included finding a plot of land, gaining planning permission, and securing a mortgage.
The UK seems to have more legal, institutional, and financial barriers than other countries in Europe when it comes to the ability to self-build, limiting the wider adoption of this alternative to buying new builds or secondhand homes.
It’s true that the UK government has recognised the need to develop the self-building industry, providing various schemes over the last decade or so (as explored in the 2021 Bacon Review commissioned by the Prime Minister), but we’ve yet to see if this will truly help to grow a self-building culture in the UK.
Could You Join The ‘Self-Build Revolution’?
Now that you know more about what self-building entails and what the situation is like in the UK, would you consider going ahead with your own self-build project?
The more people understand the viability of this option and pursue self-build homes, the more the government and other institutions, such as lenders and developers, will have to expand their offerings to cater to the growing market sector.
Currently, the government is offering a Help to Build scheme to support self-builders, which provides equity loans of 5–20% of the build value – though they must also get an approved self-build mortgage. These mortgages are a slowly growing offering from UK banks, with specialist loans available for around at least 75% of the land and build costs.
Of course, self-build finance lenders will want reassurance that their investment in your construction project will be legally protected – and so should you, as the property owner. This is why you shouldn’t forget to set up a self-build structural warranty as well, which can cover the repair costs if faulty work or materials lead to latent structural defects.
With even minimal government support, a specialist mortgage, and a building warranty to protect your investment, self-building could be more attainable and affordable than you thought.
