New builds don't add up

[Dave Bloke]

I mentioned a while back that property developers were going to have a double squeeze of wage and material inflation with a credit crunch.

Well I've just heard this on French Meeja

"New builds buck the gloom with 7% price increase annualized in last quarter"

WTF I thought

but it turns out that the asking prices have increased by that amount due to a mix of

• material costs
• wage inflation
• green claptrap
• providing free social housing (55% of French council housing are now provided by new builds) - basically you pay 100K more so a gimmigrant or pikey can live in your block for cheap

but at the same time 30% less people are signing a new build contract and 50% abandon their contract because they can't get credit or can't afford it.

There seems to be a major disconnect.

[Bobthebuilder]

3 minutes ago, Dave Bloke said:

There seems to be a major disconnect.

I am seeing new builds asking prices reduced before they are even finished, some still at foundations phase.

[Dave Bloke]

34 minutes ago, Bobthebuilder said:

I am seeing new builds asking prices reduced before they are even finished, some still at foundations phase.

I think they'll have to. 

[UmBongo]

Some are still trying it on with fantasy asking prices. A full asking price value of £302k for this shared ownership property in Norfolk, England. That price is maybe 'near London' territory. A similar style 2 bedroomed property could be bought for around £225k maybe less in this area.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128599304#/?channel=RES_NEW

As a poster on TOS pointed out: nothing to shelter you from the rain as you fumble for your front door keys. They really are extracting the urine.

[One percent]

2 minutes ago, UmBongo said:

Some are still trying it on with fantasy asking prices. A full asking price value of £302k for this shared ownership property in Norfolk, England. That price is maybe 'near London' territory. A similar style 2 bedroomed property could be bought for around £225k maybe less in this area.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128599304#/?channel=RES_NEW

As a poster on TOS pointed out: nothing to shelter you from the rain as you fumble for your front door keys. They really are extracting the urine.

Fucking hell, thats grim. Did they get their architect from the old USSR?  

[JoeDavola]

18 hours ago, UmBongo said:

Some are still trying it on with fantasy asking prices. A full asking price value of £302k for this shared ownership property in Norfolk, England. That price is maybe 'near London' territory. A similar style 2 bedroomed property could be bought for around £225k maybe less in this area.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128599304#/?channel=RES_NEW

As a poster on TOS pointed out: nothing to shelter you from the rain as you fumble for your front door keys. They really are extracting the urine.

Ya know if it's just one person living in that horror there is a real agument to saying "fuck it" and just living out of a camper van instead.

Save yourself £250K and have a similar perhaps even better quality of life.

The balls on them asking so much money for such horrible little houses.

[Dave Bloke]

19 hours ago, One percent said:

Fucking hell, thats grim. Did they get their architect from the old USSR?  

that's what I was thinking, looks like  a 70s sink estate house

[BoSon]

3 hours ago, JoeDavola said:

Ya know if it's just one person living in that horror there is a real agument to saying "fuck it" and just living out of a camper van instead.

Save yourself £250K and have a similar perhaps even better quality of life.

The balls on them asking so much money for such horrible little houses.

They're not targetting folk that would consider the quality of life living there but the folk looking to buy to rent to those with little other choice (or the awareness of what choice they really do have).

Aren't new builds still subsidised by the government via the various help to buy schemes, to prop up the building companies that just happen to be party donors and brown envelope sniffers?

Same with new cars, only affordable to those able to get credit or subsidies, so the sale price is irrelevant when the buying process is distorted to support the makers.

Housing is like crypto, value based on emotion and manipulation where rational thinkers go WTF!

[Bilbo]

Buy new builds and sell at £22loss.

Daily Telegraph  free at moment.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/homeowners-lose-22k-one-eight-new-build-homes-resold-loss/

Not really news here is it.

[spunko]

On 30/01/2023 at 20:01, Bilbo said:

Buy new builds and sell at £22loss.

Daily Telegraph  free at moment.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/homeowners-lose-22k-one-eight-new-build-homes-resold-loss/

Not really news here is it.

 watch it all collapse now,  flats will become almost worthless

[Inque]

House prices fall for fifth month in a row

Read the comments

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-64471258

[spygirl]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-12177291/Newbuild-home-horror-36-properties-destroyed-rebuilt-developer-31m-move.html

Even less when you have to knock them down and rebuild.

 

[BoSon]

1 hour ago, spygirl said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-12177291/Newbuild-home-horror-36-properties-destroyed-rebuilt-developer-31m-move.html

Even less when you have to knock them down and rebuild.

 

 

Quote

The development is in phase two of its building schedule, with two, three, four and five-bedroom homes selling for between £575,995 and £850,995.

Half a mil+ for a bland slavebox squeezed in like so many modern estates. Bargain.

Always reminds me of the opening to Weeds:

 

[spunko]

9 hours ago, spygirl said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/property/article-12177291/Newbuild-home-horror-36-properties-destroyed-rebuilt-developer-31m-move.html

Even less when you have to knock them down and rebuild.

 

Fascinating to think there are still people willing to slave away for 50 years just to be able to afford to live in one of these.

On the outskirts of Cambridge too, flat and soulless suburbia. I feel depressed just looking at the little gardens 

[Frank Hovis]

8 hours ago, spunko said:

Fascinating to think there are still people willing to slave away for 50 years just to be able to afford to live in one of these.

 

What is the alternative though?

Everyone wants to own a detached freehold house with a garden but only a minority of workers can afford to buy them so they settle for a terrace or semi if they can afford to buy a house at all.

[spunko]

20 minutes ago, Frank Hovis said:

 

What is the alternative though?

Everyone wants to own a detached freehold house with a garden but only a minority of workers can afford to buy them so they settle for a terrace or semi if they can afford to buy a house at all.

Those are detached houses with gardens. I don't know if they're freehold but I presume they are. 

My point was really that the plot size is too small and the quality of the build is abysmal. If people demanded quality then they wouldn't sell and house builders would be forced to do things properly. People only have themselves to blame. 

[Formerly]

2 hours ago, spunko said:

Those are detached houses with gardens. I don't know if they're freehold but I presume they are. 

My point was really that the plot size is too small and the quality of the build is abysmal. If people demanded quality then they wouldn't sell and house builders would be forced to do things properly. People only have themselves to blame. 

I don't agree with that. I want a big garden. In 3 years there have only been about 4 houses come onto the market within £100k of my budget with gardens big enough (>0.2 acre, ideally closer to an acre) . We're a couple both earning well over average wage with substantial savings. Is it our fault that houses all have tiny plots? Is it our fault that most of those that had decent sized gardens have been subdivided into multiple plots?

Never mind the quality of construction, the houses just aren't coming to market. I do know of a few areas where the houses have decent gardens, but the residents are staying put. I would too.

[reformed nice guy]

3 hours ago, Frank Hovis said:

 

What is the alternative though?

Everyone wants to own a detached freehold house with a garden but only a minority of workers can afford to buy them so they settle for a terrace or semi if they can afford to buy a house at all.

Eject 5+ million people that should not be here?

[spunko]

14 minutes ago, Formerly said:

I don't agree with that. I want a big garden. In 3 years there have only been about 4 houses come onto the market within £100k of my budget with gardens big enough (>0.2 acre, ideally closer to an acre) . We're a couple both earning well over average wage with substantial savings. Is it our fault that houses all have tiny plots? Is it our fault that most of those that had decent sized gardens have been subdivided into multiple plots?

Never mind the quality of construction, the houses just aren't coming to market. I do know of a few areas where the houses have decent gardens, but the residents are staying put. I would too.

It would only be your fault, according to what I said, if you had bought a tiny plot. Because then it sends the message to housebuilders that people will still buy tiny plots, so there's no reason to avoid squeezing houses in, if they will still sell.

It took me ~5 years to find a house with a large plot that I could afford btw. Don't give up...

 

[Mouse]

4 hours ago, Frank Hovis said:

Everyone wants to own a detached freehold house with a garden but only a minority of workers can afford to buy them so they settle for a terrace or semi if they can afford to buy a house at all.

Ours is a freehold, quasi terraced, ex council house with a 120ft back garden and room for two cars at the front. It's solidly built and has enabled us to raise 3 children in a good area. I count myself as very lucky, we're mortgage free now, they just don't build "cheap" houses with this amount of space and land anymore.

[Formerly]

1 hour ago, spunko said:

It would only be your fault, according to what I said, if you had bought a tiny plot. Because then it sends the message to housebuilders that people will still buy tiny plots, so there's no reason to avoid squeezing houses in, if they will still sell.

It took me ~5 years to find a house with a large plot that I could afford btw. Don't give up...

 

The problem WAS that landlords would buy them and rent them out. Hopefully that has now changed.

People have to live somewhere. In general, they choose the least shit place they can afford. They builders build the most shit place they can sell.

[Onsamui]

13 hours ago, spunko said:

Fascinating to think there are still people willing to slave away for 50 years just to be able to afford to live in one of these.

On the outskirts of Cambridge too, flat and soulless suburbia. I feel depressed just looking at the little gardens 

Well I live in a box at Nansledan and after caring for parents for 12 years in their own home, old type bungalow, huge garden and a wood, my little 3 bed box, cheap energy, small garden (with a large grass frontage maintained by the Estate), our lock up and leave is great.  We travel a lot and don't want anything that needs a lot of maintenance.  However, if you are a family then the gardens would not be enough, but there are three play areas for kids and allotments if you fancy growing your own. 

[spunko]

1 hour ago, Formerly said:

The problem WAS that landlords would buy them and rent them out. Hopefully that has now changed.

People have to live somewhere. In general, they choose the least shit place they can afford. They builders build the most shit place they can sell.

I'm not sure if you're suggesting this or not but I just don't buy into this idea that people are forced to buy new builds because it's all they can afford. Firstly,  HTB doesn't exist now, so there are no bungs, and anyway new builds are more expensive than the comparative older house. 

The reason people buy new builds is because they think they are low maintenance and ready made. They overlook the shortcomings like the fact they're chicken hutches and poorly built because they see the show home and think they'll have the perfect Mulholland Drive life too.

Edited June 10, 2023 by spunko

[leonardratso]

rabbit

[Option5]

1 hour ago, leonardratso said:

rabbit

Barratt's used to have scaled down furniture made for the show houses and arranged it to make the rooms look even bigger. They had signs to stop you sitting on the sofas, beds etc and they never had a TV as that would have been a giveaway on scale and also shown that the room layout was wrong for real life.