Question for our UK members re: Housing developments?...

todd s · 02-04-2006, 08:16 PM

I was looking at the paper today and their is a whole section devoted to new housing developments. Most are standard 3-4 bdrm with garage and basements. I have always been curious about what housing developments look like in UK or anywhere else in Europe...Are they similar style homes? Do most have basements(or what I like to call future home theaters)? And while I know housing prices can vary dramatically....what they usually cost?

Thanks!

Rob Gillespie · 02-05-2006, 06:40 AM

Houses tend to be bigger in the US (same as everything else). Land is much more expensive over here as are building costs. Also, houses here are generally built of brick whereas wooden construction is common your side of the pond. Semi-detached (you call them duplex?) are probably considered the 'norm' here. Detatched houses are generally a lot more expensive. As for basements - not common in modern houses.

Prices have skyrocketted over the past few years to the point where it's nigh on impossible for a first time buyer to get something on their own on a low to average salary. In your average kind of suburban area around a major city you wont get a 1-2 bed flat for less than £100k. For a 2-3 bed semi house expect £140k upwards. Detatched, probably £160k upwards with over £200k being more common . Location means everything and prices can vary a lot for similar properties in different areas. My own 2-bed maisonette (upper floow flat with ground-floor entry and no communal areas) cost £92.5k at end of 2002. It's now worth almost £130k.

Oh, anything in the south-east (i.e. around London) will cost more. Nobody can afford to buy in the central parts of London unless they're on city-banking type salaries.

The cost of living generally over here is higher than in the US, especially when it comes to fuel and public transport. However, we don't have to get our credit cards out every time we go to the hospital

andrew markworthy · 02-05-2006, 09:12 AM

Quote:

tend to be bigger in the US (same as everything else).

Speak for yourself, dearie.

What Rob says is correct, but just to add a few details to it. As regards what our homes look like, try 'Fish4Homes' 'Redrow' or 'Barratts' in a search engine to get an idea of the specs of a typical new home in the UK. If you want to know what a typical Brit middle class housing estate looks like, have a look at the start of any of the first three Harry Potter films - the Dursleys live in a typical middle class neighbourhood (though on Mr Dursley's salary as a company director, you'd think he'd have bought something bigger by now). Oh yes - the first thing an aspirational Brit family does when they have a little bit of money is to add a conservatory on the back of their house no matter how ridiculous it looks or impractical it is.

A lot of very recent Brit houses are townhouses. The Brit government has woken up to the fact that land is scarce and townhouses have a smaller 'footprint' so you can get more houses on the same building site. We have a townhouse and love it, but if you don't like stairs and want a large garden, then forget it.

I have no idea why we have fewer cellars here. They were commonplace up to the 1930s, but since then they seem to have disappeared from new houses. It *may* have been an economy measure during rebuilding after WWII and because people seemed not to miss cellars, they fell out of fashion.

One final thing - the only people who can afford a typical peasant's cottage with thatched roof and oak beamed walls (i.e. what many non-Brits think of as a 'typical' English home) are either successful computer programmers working from home or filthy rich bankers who like to have a weekend retreat to get away from it all. Many of our more picturesque villages have lost their indigenous populations over the last few years because the locals cannot afford to pay the prices city slickers can.

And said city slickers may only be using the property for a few weekends a year.

Some parts of the country now have local laws banning outsiders from buying property unless it is going to be their main residence.

With regard to the specific costs of houses, the average UK house price is £180,000. Rob's statement about prices is true for many parts of the country, but there are strong geographical differences. Rob has correctly identified the typical sort of prices and the horrendously expensive South East of England (I have had to turn down a couple of plum jobs in the SE in the past beause I simply couldn't afford anything unless I really wanted the house next to the crack dealer's (but hey, I'm only a university professor with full tenure). Elsewhere prices vary according to the usual criteria. An especial consideration is whether they are in the catchment area for a good school (Brit schools vary from superb down to so-called sink schools). Being in the area for the right school can in some cases double the value of your house.

todd s · 02-05-2006, 09:33 AM

Thanks for the info guys. I am really suprised with the lack of basements in newer homes. Especially, with the lack of footprints for the houses. Andrew, after reading Rob's post. I was going to mention the houses from the Harry Potter movies...then I read your post.

I am dying to visit England. I have had 3 trips planned over the past 15 years and they have all had to be cancelled. Now that I have young kids. They only want to go to Disney. But, I am determined to go and hopefully will in the next couple of years. My wife went on a HS trip so for years she wasn't thrilled to go. Not because she didn't like it. But, she wanted to go to places she hasn't been. But, recently after hearing from friends and shows we have seen...she seems to be wanting to go back.

Rob Gillespie · 02-05-2006, 10:39 AM

Depends what exactly you want to see here, Todd. Surely you're not planning a familiy holiday to inspect the typical British home?

Seriously though, please don't just stay in London if possible. This country has a lot more of interest than what's in the capitol.

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Lew Crippen · 02-05-2006, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Thanks for the info guys. I am really suprised with the lack of basements in newer homes

The lack of basements is not just cultural, but due to local soil conditions. For example when I moved to the Dallas area from Michigan, I moved from an area where pretty much all homes had basements to one where almost none did.

The reason turned out to be the unstable soil, which causes foundation problems even without basements.

todd s · 02-05-2006, 02:03 PM

Rob, I was hoping to tour England with a real estate agent as my tour guide. But, seriously. While I will probably stay in London. I would like to take some day trips. I wanted to go to Porstmouth.

Lew, I can understand. My brother lives in California..where earthquakes make basements not a good idea. And a buddy of mine lives in Florida. Where the high water table would make a basement a pool.

andrew markworthy · 02-06-2006, 03:11 AM

Quote:

But, seriously. While I will probably stay in London. I would like to take some day trips. I wanted to go to Porstmouth.

On your head be it!

A day trip to Portsmouth from London, eh? If you are planning to journey anywhere around the UK, and don't fancy driving (and unless you have a death wish, I wouldn't recommend driving in London), then you are stuck with our trains or coaches. There's a useful site here which will give you train times (and prices - you may need smelling salts on hand). By train, London to Portsmouth should take about an hour and a half each way (dep: London Waterloo in case you're interested).

Be warned that at peak commuter times, trains are unbelievably crowded, and not much better outside these times. If you travel first class, things are generally pleasant, but for those of us in standard (aka cattle) class, seats are cramped, carriages are dirty, and at no extra expense, at least one loud-mouthed moron conducting tedious conversations on a mobile phone for the whole of the journey. Take your pick from: junior manager phoning clients and colleagues and imagining that this is impressing the hell out of the other passengers; airhead talking about her plans for the weekend; and the perennial favourite - clearly mentally disturbed man with foghorn voice giving a mind-numbingly literal description of what he's doing ('I'm on a train'; 'I'm travelling to see my mum', etc).

Enjoy your visit.

todd s · 02-06-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Be warned that at peak commuter times, trains are unbelievably crowded, and not much better outside these times. If you travel first class, things are generally pleasant, but for those of us in standard (aka cattle) class, seats are cramped, carriages are dirty, and at no extra expense, at least one loud-mouthed moron conducting tedious conversations on a mobile phone for the whole of the journey. Take your pick from: junior manager phoning clients and colleagues and imagining that this is impressing the hell out of the other passengers; airhead talking about her plans for the weekend; and the perennial favourite - clearly mentally disturbed man with foghorn voice giving a mind-numbingly literal description of what he's doing ('I'm on a train'; 'I'm travelling to see my mum', etc).

I will feel like I am on a NYC subway during rush hour.

Seriously, I did look into taking a train. And it might be worth to upgrade to first class. Thanks for the info.