Isn’t it Time We Turned Our Backs on Developer Homes?

With stories in the press of developer homes proving unfit for purpose, why, asks architect Paul Testa, aren’t more of us self-building?

This piece was formulated on a recent train journey — as we sped towards the destination, I’d seen yet another depressing large housebuilder development loom on the horizon. The houses out of the window looked mean-spirited with tiny windows and no acknowledgement of orientation or context. The ‘place’ they inhabited was un-designed and clearly unloved. The laws regarding the sale of land enable the stranglehold that the large housebuilders have on the market. Land intended for housing can be sold at the value of ‘hope’ – its value should it become housing – rather than its current use value. This keeps the housebuilders in control and also goes a long way to explain such high prices to the consumer. I read recently that housing can be described as ‘part commodity,…

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Homebuilding & Renovating (Digital) - 1 Issue, June 2018

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