Anecdotal: It Only 25K To Build An "average" House

[goldbug9999]

Got talking to a girl who works for one of the big developers who are part of a 4000+ plot that is going up at the moment. She says that the materials + labour cost for a typical say house 3-bed detached/4-bed-semi or terrace is around 25K !!. Obviously there are infrastructure and utility costs to add to that but still ...

[FreeFall]

Got talking to a girl who works for one of the big developers who are part of a 4000+ plot that is going up at the moment. She says that the materials + labour cost for a typical say house 3-bed detached/4-bed-semi or terrace is around 25K !!. Obviously there are infrastructure and utility costs to add to that but still ...

Anecdotal, but I'm not sure I'd believe it (and if it's true I wouldn't live there). Remember the Prescot thing recently about the 60k house? They just about managed that if they excluded the cost of the land, fittings, etc. I would have though materials for a finished house would come to 25k easily without labour. Minimum rebuild cost for my 2 bed semi (for insurance) is 120k for example. May be feasible if they're timber frame, prefab units & awful quality of materials....throw em up cheap as chips so they fall down in 5 years time.

[neil324]

Bricklaying costs £350 per thousand bricks, blocks £1 each labour costs, same again materials. Thats about £5k in bricklaying labour per average house, then you have carpentry,roofing,plumbing,electrical,groundwork.........

So she's talking out her rear end.

[Mildura]

She's talking nonsense.

[SarahBell]

I've heard figures of 40k all in

(energy connections/water etc)

[Tired of Waiting]

Got talking to a girl who works for one of the big developers who are part of a 4000+ plot that is going up at the moment. She says that the materials + labour cost for a typical say house 3-bed detached/4-bed-semi or terrace is around 25K !!. Obviously there are infrastructure and utility costs to add to that but still ...

Yes, that number is probably about right. In the past few years I have read from many different sources that the average building costs of a house is between £600 and £900 per square meter - depending on finishing quality. So, for a "compact" 3 bed, by a large building company (economy of scale), it could be around 25k.

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/building/

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=&q=average+building+costs&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB259GB260&ie=UTF-8

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Edit: I think I've found very good data! Here ---> http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/files/ascent-homebuilding/Buildcostguide2010_1.pdf

.

Edited September 30, 2010 by Tired of Waiting

[neil324]

Yes, that number is probably about right. In the past few years I have read from many different sources that the average building costs of a house is between £600 and £900 per square meter - depending on finishing quality. So, for a "compact" 3 bed, by a large building company (economy of scale), it could be around 25k.

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/building/

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=&q=average+building+costs&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB259GB260&ie=UTF-8

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Edit: I think I've found very good data here: http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/files/ascent-homebuilding/Buildcostguide2010_1.pdf

I work in the sector, bricklaying materials & labour would be 10k by itself alone. Oh and thats being conservative by the way.

Edited September 30, 2010 by neil324

[Tired of Waiting]

I work in the sector, bricklaying materials & labour would be 10k by itself alone. Oh and thats being conservative by the way.

OK, thanks.

But that is for a contractor, right? These large building companies pay salaries, no? They must have much cheaper costs.

And what do you think about this data? Reliable? This: http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/files/ascent-homebuilding/Buildcostguide2010_1.pdf

[Saberu]

Sounds about right, most of the price people pay for a house is paying for the right to use the land. But despite buying the right to use the land there's a whole host of restrictions that the government will place on your use of that land- you can't run a business from it, and you definitely can't build anything they don't like except maybe a small extension.

Compare that to China where you are allowed to run businesses from home without having to pay business rates and the planning laws are very lax in China.

In China employers will give foreigners their own apartment to live in so despite the salaries being lower it's probably the equivalent of earning 25k in the UK due to no tax or rent to pay and lower costs, on and on. Being a businessman in China is even better, I can rent a really good apartment for about 150 pounds/ month.

Only drawback is I have to pay around 50 pounds/ month for my student visa which is a little trick which allows me to live indefinitely in China without needing a job.

Any of you could move to China right now if you are earning at least 300/ month outside of a job. That would be enough to rent your own apartment, pay bills and eat out everyday. Certainly a good alternative to being in the UK paying 60-70% of your salary on tax, rent, bills and food.

If I wanted I could spend under 20 pounds/ month on food and still eat out everyday if I just had one big meal per day then fruit for snacks outside of that.

Edited September 30, 2010 by Saberu

[exiges]

Doesn't seem completely unreasonable when buying in bulk and hiring cheap labour.

[neil324]

OK, thanks.

But that is for a contractor, right? These large building companies pay salaries, no? They must have much cheaper costs.

And what do you think about this data? Reliable? This: http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/files/ascent-homebuilding/Buildcostguide2010_1.pdf

Thats for all national builders Persimmon,Barrets,etc they all work sub contract. After the last crash they all got burned with people on the books, 99% of work is now done sub contract so they can stop at will.

Your link is not working for me.

Everything is a set price, i can only give the bricklaying prices, but i know carpenters,electricians etc are all on the same wages/prices if not more.

What normally happens is the work is given to one sub contractor, who then sub contarcts the work out to indivual workers taking a cut of the prices.

Edited September 30, 2010 by neil324

[General Congreve]

[quote name='Saberu' date='30 September 2010 - 01:15 PM' timestamp='1285848945' post='2727698'

Any of you could move to China right now if you are earning at least 300/ month outside of a job.

Interesting. Are oyu saying it costs you 300 quid a month to get by there? Including your 150 quid rent of course?

As for the 25k thing, whether it's 25k or 80k, houses are still way over valued thanks to the web of debt ponzi scheme the banks have been running for decades. But still, I can't thank them enough, they've set up perfect conditions for me to profit handsomely in the coming months and years.

[exiges]

Say its £600 per square meter and we aint including landscaping, driveways

Landscaping ? Driveways ? You've not been to a new build estate in a while have you ?

[Reluctant Heretic]

I was advised by a financial advisor a couple of years ago to allow £80k build costs for a 3 bed, fully detached. At the time I was considering self-build.

Recenly I was quoted £35-40k for a one up, one down extension. (My other quote from a local builder in Cornwall was £50k - £55k and he was taken back when I told him that he was being a little unreasonable). Included kitchen and an en-suite.

I guess floor area of extension was about 30 sq m.

Edited September 30, 2010 by Reluctant Heretic

[Mildura]

Yes, that number is probably about right. In the past few years I have read from many different sources that the average building costs of a house is between £600 and £900 per square meter - depending on finishing quality. So, for a "compact" 3 bed, by a large building company (economy of scale), it could be around 25k.

http://www.whatprice.co.uk/building/

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=&q=average+building+costs&sourceid=navclient-ff&rlz=1B3GGGL_enGB259GB260&ie=UTF-8

---------------------

Edit: I think I've found very good data! Here ---> http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/files/ascent-homebuilding/Buildcostguide2010_1.pdf

.

41 sq. m is a pretty compact 3 bed house.

[neil324]

I was advised by a financial advisor a couple of years ago to allow £80k build costs for a 3 bed, fully detached. At the time I was considering self-build.

Recenly I was quoted £35-40k for a one up, one down extension. (My other quote from a local builder in Cornwall was £50k - £55k and he was taken back when I told him that he was being a little unreasonable). Included kitchen and an en-suite.

I guess floor area of extension was about 30 sq m.

Bingo some sense at last.

You get bob the builder round to give you a quote for a small extension on the side of the house it comes out at £15k.

Anyone take out building insurance lately with £25k rebuild cover?

Just to add pre 2007 prices were insane with £450-500 per thousand bricks and £1.40-£1.80 per block being paid by the house builders.

Edited September 30, 2010 by neil324

[goldbug9999]

I was advised by a financial advisor a couple of years ago to allow £80k build costs for a 3 bed, fully detached. At the time I was considering self-build.

Recenly I was quoted £35-40k for a one up, one down extension. (My other quote from a local builder in Cornwall was £50k - £55k and he was taken back when I told him that he was being a little unreasonable). Included kitchen and an en-suite.

I guess floor area of extension was about 30 sq m.

RIght but were talking about building 50 of the same type at once in a phased build - 50 foundations, then 50 sets of walls, then 50 roofs, 50 sets of plumbing & electrics etc etc.Obviously for a one-off paying "retail" prices for building labour and materials prices are going to be 2 or 3 times that.

Edited September 30, 2010 by goldbug9999

[The Floating World]

My dad has been a bricklayer/ builder for the last 38 years. He said the average material/labour price for a three bed house is £40,000.00. Land prices comprise the largest component of most developments these days.

Of course if you commission a builder to construct a house you will be charged considerably more than the cost price as they want to make a profit, they're not doing it for fun. You are charged what they think you will pay above the material/ labour cost.

For example a loft conversion will cost at the most £5000.00 in labour and materials, but the going rate in my area is £30,000.00 to £40,000.00 and you will not find one builder who will charge less than £30,000.00 to do it.

[eejit]

I was advised by a financial advisor a couple of years ago to allow £80k build costs for a 3 bed, fully detached. At the time I was considering self-build.

Recently I was quoted £35-40k for a one up, one down extension. (My other quote from a local builder in Cornwall was £50k - £55k and he was taken back when I told him that he was being a little unreasonable). Included kitchen and an en-suite.

I guess floor area of extension was about 30 sq m.

Builders quotes have become outrageous, i thought that maybe with the poles etc, build costs would have become more reasonable. However, builders seem to think that a day rate of £300+ is acceptable.

their quotes seem to be based on the fact that extension might add £40k value to the property, so they will charge you £50k. Not that it will take x amount of days and £y worth of materials.

The trades have all done very out of the boom, now they need to start being a bit more realistic about things. The thing is, there must be still people willing to be ripped off. Recently, i was quoted for some work, which when i worked out the costs of materials it meant i would be paying someone about £150 an hour. I am happy to pay a reasonable amount for a good job, and it save me the time, but £150 an hour is ridiculous (its about 4 times what we pay heart surgeons), so in the end he's wasted an hour measuring and preparing the quote.

Anyway, I was under the impression that build costs for the typical wimpy-type home were about £60k.

[scottbeard]

Any of you could move to China right now if you are earning at least 300/ month outside of a job. That would be enough to rent your own apartment, pay bills and eat out everyday. Certainly a good alternative to being in the UK paying 60-70% of your salary on tax, rent, bills and food.

Financially maybe, but I don't really want to be on the other side of the world from my girlfriend, friends and family.

[assetrichcashpoor]

A colleague had a semi on a corner plot. He attempted to get planning permission to build a 1 bedroom house on the end of his semi. He ran through the figures for that and he could get a builder to do it all including the kitchen and bathroom for £30,000. This chap has had some building experience in the past and was going to do the majority of the work himself until he got some quotes in and found out that paying someone else to do it was only marginally more than doing it himself.

This would have been a 1 bedroom place and one of the walls was already built, but even so I was shocked at how little the actually building would cost. I could imagine a big builder with economies of scale might be able to build a house for £25,000-£40,0000.

[Reluctant Heretic]

Builders quotes have become outrageous, i thought that maybe with the poles etc, build costs would have become more reasonable. However, builders seem to think that a day rate of £300+ is acceptable.

their quotes seem to be based on the fact that extension might add £40k value to the property, so they will charge you £50k. Not that it will take x amount of days and £y worth of materials.

The trades have all done very out of the boom, now they need to start being a bit more realistic about things. The thing is, there must be still people willing to be ripped off. Recently, i was quoted for some work, which when i worked out the costs of materials it meant i would be paying someone about £150 an hour. I am happy to pay a reasonable amount for a good job, and it save me the time, but £150 an hour is ridiculous (its about 4 times what we pay heart surgeons), so in the end he's wasted an hour measuring and preparing the quote.

Anyway, I was under the impression that build costs for the typical wimpy-type home were about £60k.

I can get a plumber out the same day at any time now. One thing that has made life better!

[swissy_fit]

Got talking to a girl who works for one of the big developers who are part of a 4000+ plot that is going up at the moment. She says that the materials + labour cost for a typical say house 3-bed detached/4-bed-semi or terrace is around 25K !!. Obviously there are infrastructure and utility costs to add to that but still ...

Family member built a 200 m2 house for 96k all in(but land not included, he already owned it), did all except the blockwork and major carpentry(roof etc) himself. I can confirm it's a very nice house.

Mind you, 2 years labour should be added to that figure, bringing it up to what, about 160k?.

So I suppose an average house could be built using the same methods for about 80-90k.

Add in savings by using prefab and terraced housing and you might get it down to 60-65k.

Difficult to see how you could even approach the 25k figure.

[refugee]

The fact that anyone can believe this make me worry about HPCers. I've built houses and I've placed a countless number of order for building works. I'm a professional although I'm not a QS.

It's not possible to build a house for £25k. Just few years back the government backed a range of programmes developing modern methods of construction to produce small social housing shells with a target of £60k - no signs of any meaningful success. The target did not include the infrastructure costs. Remember that a regular 7.3m wide highway cost around £2m per 1000 metres and factor that into the cost per unit. Building on brownfield? Decontamination, remediation, special groundworks for made or previously built ground. Try it, you find mobilisation costs £10k just to get a single rig on site then around £2k per pile (no new data to hand, just and old quote from 2003). Reinforced raft - might eat a good bit of your £25k.

Salaries? Most big concerns employ a bare minimum, the rest are contractors. I know becasue I'm one. Compulsory self employed by forcing you to go through an umbrella company. When the contract is cut you disappear - you can't be unemployed because you were self employed. You can't get any benefits. Get sick and you get replaced. Decline the invitation to work through an umbrella or register your own limited company and surprise - the agencies suddenly find they can't place you.

The poster who quoted £350 per 1000 for brick laying is spot on - back now at 2005 levels, ditto his block price.

How much do you think Code for Sustainable Homes will add to the cost?

[RufflesTheGuineaPig]

Got talking to a girl who works for one of the big developers who are part of a 4000+ plot that is going up at the moment. She says that the materials + labour cost for a typical say house 3-bed detached/4-bed-semi or terrace is around 25K !!. Obviously there are infrastructure and utility costs to add to that but still ...

I've been syaing this for ages but everyone thinks I'm nuts.

When you build one house, it's expensive.

You bilders going to come in, dig the foundations, put up some scafolding, lay the bricks, plaster it etc etc

When you build 250 at once the costs plummet.

You don't hire Bob the Builder to spend two weeks digging your foundations, you hire John the JCB Driver who digs 6 sets of foundations in day.

Once the foundations are set you bring in a team of brick layers who just lay bricks and have assstant who just mix mortar using a cement mixer, and runner swho just fetch bricks, who are assisted by a couple of scaffolers who make sure no-one is stood around waiting and there is always brick laying that can be done.

A team of sparkies will do at least one complete house a day, but split across 2 days a few weeks appart. Half a day to boxfit and pre-wire then another half a day after the plasterers have been in to screw the sockets and switches on the boxes.

Plumber will be about a day... these days they don't fit bath/sink etc just the connections and the decorators and kitchen fitters bolt everything in and connect up to the valved pipes with a flexihose.

Roofs trusses turn up complete and take a couple of hours to put in place with a crane, the rest of the day to cover it and then any random builder can spand a few days nailing the tiles down.

A 2-man team of window fitters can easily fit a whole house in a day, and if your buying 250 houses worth of windows you basically pay cost price.

All the stuff people consider to be expesive and slow like plumbing and plastering and wiring are generally only slow and expensive because their experience is of the trademen going into an existing house.

You would be amazed how quick a sparky can get wiring done in a shell as he doesn't have to cut channels, drill behind skirting boards etc.