On Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:03:26 +0100, dennis@home wrote:


"Bruce" wrote in message
...


Our land is ridiculously expensive. It is also the main source of
profit for most large housebuilders. They buy large amounts of land
and hold it for many years as an investment. When the price has risen
sufficiently to make them a good profit, they build on it.

That does not make economic sense.
You want to buy something, increase its value and sell it as soon as
possible so you can get on with the next bit.
Remember that they will have to pay the going rate for their next plot so
the "gain" is eaten up by the next purchase.

But it does help to soak up excess profits without having to pay tax on them.
Then in future years they can realise (i.e. sell or build on) the asset. It's
like shops buying in stock in good times to cushion against lean times.


So making houses cheaper to build will make very little difference to
the final cost. Our houses are already cheaply (and poorly) built
compared with those in many European countries.

Well buy one that isn't cheaply built then.
There are self build plots available now the big builders are struggling.

Any savings are more
likely to go to increase the housebuilders' profit margins.