If flats are so expensive in London, why don't you build one?

Question

I have a question, if flats and houses are so expensive in London and the UK, wouldn't be a good solution to buy a piece of land and build your flat yourself? if you want to save on manpower you can build it with some friends, it may sound dumb, but that probably would be much cheaper, and then you can live on it and be mortgage free, I bet nobody thought about this before!, you may spend one year building your house without working and you'll be mortgage free for life!!!

Is that possible or am I just saying nonsense? why?

Answer 1

There is no land left in London, and what there is in the outlying areas is extremely expensive. Also, you cannot build something cheaply and probably not by yourself because the government sets standards on buildings and you must meet all those standards. In general, new construction is more expensive than buying an older place, but there is a chance you could make a small profit if you sold it when you were done.

Answer 2

Have you looked at the cost of land in London (assuming you can find any that isn't already being developed by the big boys)? Buying building land would cost a lot, probably more than a flat (as you can fit many flats on one piece of land).

They don't take kindly to people building in Regents Park without permission I'm afraid.

Answer 3

You still have to pay for land and materials, which in a large city can be the biggest part of the expense. The prime real estate has been claimed, and they can't open up new land without zoning property that was previously used for something else for housing.

Answer 4

Damn, that's a really great idea, why did nobody ever suggest it before! Even better, you could try to reclaim some land from the Thames, by building dykes around it, and then you wouldn't even have to pay for the land!!