Who will buy these homes?

😁

That's the chap, Doodledog: he'd have had a few thoughts on the new build dolls houses, I would imagine.

Our local water authority has warned that their infrastructure isn’t good enough to cope with any more large developments in the area. I wonder if that will stop any more building in and around our nearest city?

Also, a further potential problem with these constructions are large shared drives. Will all of the houses reached by these be happy to pay their share when they need repairs, or replacing?
The sums involved will be not insignificant, and what if one house owner refuses- will the others be happy to pay the extra, or..?

We need to compare apples with apples, if we are bringing into the thread older jerry built semis, they are probably not in an upmarket area and the probably need a lot of work to bring them up to modern standards.
Sites in upmarket areas are expensive it may cost £ 250k+ easily, whereas a new large estate it could be £100k or less just for the site. A developer is looking to make a % of the selling price as profit

Well, David, I might disagree with you on housing areas. I have lived in a number of cities and towns and have found that most of the 'desirable ' areas, near to amenities, transport, and good schools, have been built on already, possibly by those ' jerry builders' you dismiss. Most new build estates around here are in places where, previously, there has been little demand, because of location.
The odd exception is where a small development replaced a torn down property, or has been constructed in land taken from a large garden.

Shared ownership seems to be a minefield - a friend's daughter bought a flat under this scheme and, like many I have read of since, management and service charges spiral. This means she will never be able to afford any further shares, having extortionate charges, rent and a mortgage. Who has the income to buy new houses? We are told it is virtually impossible to buy now, unless a deposit is forthcoming from a relative.

David49

We need to compare apples with apples, if we are bringing into the thread older jerry built semis, they are probably not in an upmarket area and the probably need a lot of work to bring them up to modern standards.
Sites in upmarket areas are expensive it may cost £ 250k+ easily, whereas a new large estate it could be £100k or less just for the site. A developer is looking to make a % of the selling price as profit

It was me who mentioned jerry-built semi-detached houses as that was how ours was described in the 1930s. In fact, it was solidly brick-built, had a large, productive garden, my parents maintained it well. It was sold before house prices rose rapidly in the 1980s and has, I saw from the internet, been more modernised. The area is popular and houses well maintained.

They were better built than many more modern properties.

In that area it might now fetch £275,000+
A similar property in an area of London where DH and I lived would be around £850,000!

My lovely market town is now surrounded by new developments with hardly any houses that could be considered affordable. We have no new hospitals, GP surgeries, schools or roads to cope with the huge influx of people. However we do have a new crematorium! Perhaps there’s a plan to bump us off and incinerate us to make way for the newcomers.

LovesBach

Shared ownership seems to be a minefield - a friend's daughter bought a flat under this scheme and, like many I have read of since, management and service charges spiral. This means she will never be able to afford any further shares, having extortionate charges, rent and a mortgage. Who has the income to buy new houses? We are told it is virtually impossible to buy now, unless a deposit is forthcoming from a relative.

I wrote about 1 year ago on here, that I considered shared ownership the worst of both worlds.

Your last sentence.
Yes I would say.
Unless a cheap[er] area.
Or two people on higher than average wages.
Or one on a very high wage.

Allira

David49

We need to compare apples with apples, if we are bringing into the thread older jerry built semis, they are probably not in an upmarket area and the probably need a lot of work to bring them up to modern standards.
Sites in upmarket areas are expensive it may cost £ 250k+ easily, whereas a new large estate it could be £100k or less just for the site. A developer is looking to make a % of the selling price as profit

It was me who mentioned jerry-built semi-detached houses as that was how ours was described in the 1930s. In fact, it was solidly brick-built, had a large, productive garden, my parents maintained it well. It was sold before house prices rose rapidly in the 1980s and has, I saw from the internet, been more modernised. The area is popular and houses well maintained.

They were better built than many more modern properties.

In that area it might now fetch £275,000+
A similar property in an area of London where DH and I lived would be around £850,000!

The house we had before this one was a 'jerry built' semi in a convenient part of town, which is much more 'up market' than the outlying areas being built up now. It had a good sized garden, decent room sizes and I suspect as many square yards as many of the detached boxy ones on the peripheral estates.

As with many older homes, people living there modernised them as they went along - I doubt there are any still as they were in 1935. They are still very much in demand, and have maintained their popular with families.

Chocolatelovinggran

Well, David, I might disagree with you on housing areas. I have lived in a number of cities and towns and have found that most of the 'desirable ' areas, near to amenities, transport, and good schools, have been built on already, possibly by those ' jerry builders' you dismiss. Most new build estates around here are in places where, previously, there has been little demand, because of location.
The odd exception is where a small development replaced a torn down property, or has been constructed in land taken from a large garden.

The original thread was discussing New Estate housing, there are plenty of older houses built cheaply in all periods, call them Jerry built if you want.
In this area the worst were condemned and demolished in the 1960s as were many city slums, over the years the remainder got refurbished piecemeal . Now if a house which has not been updated is sold it’s likely to get demolished and rebuilt, if it’s a large plot two built.
Around the Towns and Villages there are many spaces, fields Farmyards, former shops, pubs and other small buildings all have a value for development. Even in the upmarket areas houses built in the 1930-50s are being rebuilt not extended.

I think that we live in different areas, David, so our experiences of housing are not similar.

Chocolatelovinggran

I think that we live in different areas, David, so our experiences of housing are not similar.

My experience is very different from David's too, for what that's worth.

Yes, we were discussing new builds, but David compares them favourably with older housing and suggests that new estates are found in more 'upmarket' parts of town, whereas other posters (including me) have not found that to be the case.

Where new estates are on the outskirts of older towns, which many of them are, they lack facilities, or share them with the original town, for which the facilities were developed. It is rare for estates to have their own schools (particularly High Schools), medical centres or shops other than a Spar or local Co-op. Residents have to come into the town to access those things, and many are further than walking distance, so equivalent properties nearer the centre become more desirable and 'up-market' after the advantages of buying off-plan (eg incentives from builders) have worn off.

In my area 'close to town centre facilities' is very much a selling point, and adds £££ to the price of a house. Many of the new builds are family houses, hence the number of bathrooms and bedrooms, but when parents are driving children to different schools, the shops, the station and to the various clubs and sports in the centre they soon see the advantage of living somewhere more convenient.

I think it is a crying shame when gorgeous chunks of garden are built on.

“Yes, we were discussing new builds, but David compares them favourably with older housing and suggests that new estates are found in more 'upmarket' parts of town, whereas other posters (including me) have not found that to be the case.”

You either misunderstand or misinterpret my comments.
Locally we have all sorts of new estates some on the edge of town greenfield sites, some in town on former industrial sites, some out of town on a former Army base. We have them all, the close to town use existing local services that have been expanded to cater for larger numbers. The large out of town site has provision for new school, doctors surgery, road improvements, community centre and shops. All of this alongside smaller infill developments within many villages.

The new builds are very popular with whether as rentals, affordable or purchase because they are very practical, they are what you need, cheap to heat and low maintenence. My wife’s son lives in one on the edge of town, we have dog sat for them, the environment of the estate is excellent. If I was working age I would live there, that’s what it is designed for, you can tell the mix of incomes on the estate by the cars parked, there is everything from a old Ford Escort to Aston Martins. As I’m retired a 3 bed bungalow with a decent garden is my and many others first choice, so new build estate maybe not the best for the retired

Around the Towns and Villages there are many spaces, fields Farmyards

Productive farmland should never be allowed to be developed for yet more housing.

As I’m retired a 3 bed bungalow with a decent garden is my and many others first choice

Could you let me know where these desirable 3 bedroomed bungalows are situated please?
The few round here are certainly not new builds and may be in need of extensive renovation, which could be offputting for older people.

Jeremy Corbyn's plan to tackle the housing crisis (at least in part) was to reclaim empty properties in cities along with office blocks and the like. But everyone said he was a lunatic. So there we go.

Some disused office blocks were converted into housing, I believe, but they are often not at all suitable for residential purposes.

David, I was responding to the post I quoted above (I won't requote the whole conversation as it is on this page) where you said that We need to compare apples with apples, if we are bringing into the thread older jerry built semis, they are probably not in an upmarket area and the probably need a lot of work to bring them up to modern standards.
Sites in upmarket areas are expensive it may cost £ 250k+ easily, whereas a new large estate it could be £100k or less just for the site. A developer is looking to make a % of the selling price as profit

In my experience (which I'm not saying is yours) the so-called 'jerry built' semis are in 'better' (as in more expensive) areas because they are much closer to amenities. It may be different where you live, but new builds here are on the edges of town and may have one 7/11 style shop, but no school, church, surgery etc, so residents have to drive into the centre of town at least once a day.

It is just not true that the older semis need updating either. They were never a cheap option compared to other housing styles available on the mass market, and their owners have maintained them well. Many have been extended and remodelled over the 90 odd years since they were built. They may not be architecturally imaginative, but the bay windows, gardens and areas such as reception halls and pram-sized porches have always made them a popular choice for families.

I recognise that your mileage may vary, but what I am saying is that there is clearly no universal formula for these things, which your post suggested.

When I think of “30s style” houses, it brings to my mind leafy tree lined street. Some front garden, bay windows, porches and some sort of hall way.

I think the design in general -and I’ve noticed some of the early “council houses” adopted this style too, was more affordable and practical than the late Victorian/early Edwardian/pre WW1 properties, in that they took into account the lifestyle that the young families of the period aspired to, with regard to cleaning and maintenance- with no need for live in “staff” if the occupants had been accustomed to this previously.
They may have lacked the ceiling height and bedroom size of the Edwardian terraced and no cellars but they were/are more charming (I am aware that some were badly built)

When I think of new build estates I’m afraid It mainly conjures up images of deserts of mud, noise/problems with utilities, and in places were they weren’t welcomed by the existing residents, far from any local community shops/pharmacies/primary school, tiny mean little gardens filled with lumps of brick and what-have you, where the car or cars take precedence’s over the design of the frontage, which is forgivable in a mid century build but puzzling to me that anyone would find it acceptable to buy one where cars have to be parked right under the front windows! Plus small rooms but lots of bathrooms…what is with this obsession?
Charming they are not and very much a “mish- mash” of derivative styles from the past century. I presume they are warmer and more sound proofed though -they’ve got to have something going for them😊

Allira

^As I’m retired a 3 bed bungalow with a decent garden is my and many others first choice^

Could you let me know where these desirable 3 bedroomed bungalows are situated please?
The few round here are certainly not new builds and may be in need of extensive renovation, which could be offputting for older people.

They are like hens teeth and you pay a premium, there were quite a lot built in the 1960 and 70s they need refurbishing.
New build they take up more space so are less attractive for developers.
In the next upmarket village a 1930s bungalow was demolished and 2 new built they look quite compact 3 bed open views to rear.
Make sure you’re sitting down before you open the link

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/164867987#/media?id=media0&ref=photoCollage&channel=RES_BUY

My MIL died 3yrs ago her 1980s 3 bed bungalow in a workaday village was valued at £350k

Times have changed for builders I well remember building sites being a sea of mud, now councils and safety inspectors make the build hard roads and proper access before they start work.
They could build houses the same size as the Council Houses of the 1960s with a big garden, to modern energy standards they would cost at least 50% more, that’s not what working families can afford.

Allira

^As I’m retired a 3 bed bungalow with a decent garden is my and many others first choice^

Could you let me know where these desirable 3 bedroomed bungalows are situated please?
The few round here are certainly not new builds and may be in need of extensive renovation, which could be offputting for older people.

Where I am now - there are a noticeable number of bungalows - but they were basically built in the 1960's and 1970s. Hence they all need gutting - but only some of them have been (including mine - as I was the one that did so). There are some that have been built this century - but that location has a premium price tag - and it's better-off older people that seem to be buying them in the main and their reasoning does indeed seem to be along the lines of "I want a modern home - but I don't want to be the one that renovates an older house".

I tend to look at the carpets first - and a lot of them are still 1970s style - but the person living in the bungalow moved in a lot later than the person that put those carpets in and they kept them still - 50 years later.

As everywhere - there are bungalows that are obviously recently modernised and those ones tend often to have obvious evidence of children living there (ie they've been bought by a young couple - instead of an elderly person).