Cheapest place in the UK to buy a house?

littlegreenman

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Why is it that nobody seems to understand that if you build on a "green and pleasant land"  it ceases to be that, and becomes a housing estate instead? If you move all  the people from the city to the countryside, you've taken the city and dumped it in the countryside!

Because it doesn't have to be done that way. Where I live, in Liverpool, there's ample unused "countryside" that could accommodate a lot of new small hamlet or village sized housing developments, close enough to an existing city to allow most of the benefits of city dwelling without the downsides of the isolation of being in the middle of nowhere.

I suspect this is probably true on the outskirts of most British cities, at least the ones away from the conurbation of Greater London.

I'm not suggesting us "townies" come and spoil your little idyll, just that other small ones can be built without any major disruption to the existing status quo. A slightly more dispersed population, that's all. Nicer for everyone

ToneControl

It's the planning laws that have messed us all up, therefore restricting supply whilst demand goes up. Peoples' lack of revolt against house price increases has assisted. The Irish messed this up most of all - getting houses using loans up to 10 times their salary. At least the Uk was only crazy enough to go up to 6 times.

The planning laws seem to work against quality of life of the majority: since active planning regulation after WW2, the average house size and plot size has got smaller and smaller, now one of the smallest in the western world, and anything outside an urban area has been almost impossible to build on unless you are minted. You can have planning permission refused because the house is not "sustainable" which means "not on a bus route". Are we ever going back to a public-transport dominated society??

We need lots of new houses, all over the place, at prices proportional to building cost unless they are somewhere really special.- many people don't know how cheap it is to build a house. about £100k will build a large 4 bed bungalow, £80-90k will build a pair of semis

Phil_aka_Pip

ToneControl said:

It's the planning laws that have messed us all up, therefore restricting supply whilst demand goes up. Peoples' lack of revolt against house price increases has assisted. The Irish messed this up most of all - getting houses using loans up to 10 times their salary. At least the Uk was only crazy enough to go up to 6 times.

The planning laws seem to work against quality of life of the majority: since active planning regulation after WW2, the average house size and plot size has got smaller and smaller, now one of the smallest in the western world, and anything outside an urban area has been almost impossible to build on unless you are minted. You can have planning permission refused because the house is not "sustainable" which means "not on a bus route". Are we ever going back to a public-transport dominated society??

We need lots of new houses, all over the place, at prices proportional to building cost unless they are somewhere really special.- many people don't know how cheap it is to build a house. about £100k will build a large 4 bed bungalow, £80-90k will build a pair of semis

There used to be regulations about the minimum amount of floor space etc. I think these were abandoned during the 1980s, but I can't put a definite date on it.

I think prices proportional to building cost is the logical way to go, but until that is enforced, prices will always be determined by what the property developers think that can get away with.

I'm not quite convinced about "needing" lots of new houses. Demand is pushed by uncontrolled immigration (wait for someone to play the "racist" card) and by the breakdown of families, plus the expectations of youngsters who think it is their right to fly the family nest as soon as they are 18. If those problems could be solved, demand would be less, but I'm not naieve enough to think it would go away.

johnnyurq

Phil_aka_Pip said:

Evilmags said:

It s really simple. Release a lot of land and let people build on it.

There's nothing wrong with NIMBYism, I'm all for it.

Except when it is in your own back yard naturally. 

Antique_Guitars

I am disappointed in the lack of offers of free longterm board, I can makz tings out of de woodz 4 youz!

holnrew

Antique_Guitars said: I am disappointed in the lack of offers of free longterm board, I can makz tings out of de woodz 4 youz!

What can you do with this wood? *Unzips fly*

johnnyurq

Antique_Guitars said:

I am disappointed in the lack of offers of free longterm board, I can makz tings out of de woodz 4 youz!

I have both a shed and a spare room (cept at weekends when grandson stays over).

But I suspect the commute may be a bit of a bugger.

We could setup the wooden dildo inc, the 50 shades readers will love them, no they literally will.

I wooden buy them myself as I prefer the more modern modellers, less splintesr and chafing.