Study Reveals Self-Build Hotspots

• New research reveals the best (& worst) locations to build your own home.

The study by PlumbNation looks at factors such as the cost of land, the proportion of planning applications that are successful and how much property values have increased over the last 10 years to reveal the 2021 Homebuilders Report.

The best local authorities for building your own home

1. Dartford - Self-build Score: 8.46

The best place to build your own home is Dartford, which tops the table with a Self-build Score of 8.46. While land in Dartford is by no means the cheapest you’ll find, the area benefits from a high rate of successful planning permission requests, as well as having experienced an incredible increase in property value of 71.12% over the last ten years, which suggests any home you do build could be worth a lot more in the future.

2. North Hertfordshire - Self-build Score: 8.42

North Hertfordshire also performs relatively well across all three factors, especially planning permission, as an impressive 95.45% of planning applications are granted, while property values increased by 69.27% over the last decade.

3. Tunbridge Wells - Self-build Score: 8.36

Tunbridge Wells also has an excellent success rate of 96.37% for planning applications. However, it loses out on a higher finish due to its lower, yet still impressive, increase in property values of 64%.

The worst local authorities for building your own home:

1. Kensington and Chelsea - Self-build Score: 5.11

Kensington and Chelsea is the worst place in the country to build your own home. This is due to the incredibly expensive cost of land, which is at an absolute premium this far into London. As such, it finishes with a Self-build Score of just 5.11.

2. Westminster - Self-build Score: 5.34

Second place is a similar story with Westminster achieving a score of just 5.34. This shows that building in central London is the preserve of large scale developers who can use economies of scale to bring costs down.

3. Blackpool - Self-build Score: 6.24

Third on our list, and the worst place to build outside of London, is Blackpool. While this seaside Lancashire town benefits from relatively low land costs and an acceptable rate of successful planning applications, property values in the area have increased by just 14.24% in ten years. This means that any property you do build in the area is unlikely to increase in value by any large measure.

Review the full Plumbnation Homebuilders report here 

Further insights:

• West Lindsey is the most affordable place in the UK to buy land

• Kensington and Chelsea are the least affordable places in the UK to buy land

• Outside of London, Elmbridge is the most expensive place in the UK to buy land

• Isles of Scilly is the best local authority for granting planning permission but has seen the least growth in property values

• Barking and Dagenham is the most difficult place in the UK to get planning permission

• Hackney is the area that has experienced the highest level of house price inflation over the last decade

• The best place outside of London for rising property values is Thurrock

Source : Plumbnation

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