50% of self-builders choose sustainable heating, finds NaCSBA report

NaCSBA’s Custom and Self Build Market Report 2022 offers insights into the CSB sector

By Victoria Purcell | 4 August 2022

The National Custom and Self Build Association (NaCSBA) published its first annual Custom and Self Build Market Report in May 2022. The most comprehensive assessment of the sector to date, the survey tracked the experiences of those who have built their own home in the last five years.

The results show that 50% of self-builders included a sustainable heat source in their project, while over half chose to build using Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). The main reason cited for choosing an owner-commissioned house was greater choice, and the report suggests that for many self-builders, these choices often result in higher quality, greener homes.

The Grand Designs Passivhaus transformed this old barn in the Cotswolds

The Seymour-Smiths’ Cotswolds build, featured on Grand Designs, was the UK’s first Passivhaus. Photo: Chris Tubbs

Unsurprisingly, the number-one barrier to self-building is sourcing a plot of land, despite the Right to Build legislation and the National Planning Policy Framework’s requirement for local authorities to identify land to accommodate at least 10% of their housing requirement on small sites. This was closely followed by the intricacies of the planning process as the second largest barrier.

‘This first-ever NaCSBA annual Custom and Self Build Market Report is essential reading for all those keen to access quality insight, analysis and data on the sector and on the views and aspirations of past and current self-builders, as well as those thinking of the route,’ said NaCSBA CEO Andrew Baddeley-Chappell. ‘It is a stark reminder of what the new homes market could and should be about – quality, sustainability, community and value.’

The eco-credentials of Leah and Craig’s custom build wowed Kevin McCloud on Grand Designs: The Streets. Photo: Channel 4

The Seymour-Smiths’ Cotswolds build, featured on Grand Designs, was the UK’s first Passivhaus. Photo: Chris Tubbs

The eco-credentials of Leah and Craig’s custom build wowed Kevin McCloud on Grand Designs: The Streets. Photo: Channel 4

Further report highlights include:

self-builders tend to be affluent, earning typically 2.5x the average household income
the average self-build plot price is £253,000
the average build budget is £312,000
the average contingency fund is 15%, but most builds come in on budget or below this margin
55% of self builders are aged between 45-64

Speaking at a House of Commons reception to launch the report, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: ‘If we move all of the incentives in the right way; if you have a plan-led system that is responsive to the need to ensure that there are smaller plots, which are suitable and made available for custom and self builders; if we look at how we can support those with the initiative and the wherewithal to back Modern Methods of Construction; if we have building societies, like Ecology, that are explicitly prepared to lend to individuals, who are making sure that homes are in keeping, not just with high aesthetics, but also high environmental standards; if we create circumstances in every part of the landscape that incentivise self and custom build, then we can transform the housing market, and transform it for good.’

The NaCSBA Custom and Self Build Market Report 2022

Set out over 100 pages, the Custom and Self Build Market Report 2022 provides a valuable overview that adds further insight data and analysis to support the findings of Richard Bacon’s Independent Review into Scaling up Self-build and Custom Housebuilding.

The report costs £298, but is free to NaCSBA Members. It offers data-based insights into the CSB sector, including self-build aspirations of the public, the experiences, decisions and motivations of people who built a home in the last five years, and Right to Build register data.

NaCSBA membership starts from as little as £295 per year. To buy the report, visit nacsba.org.uk/csb-market-report. To enquire about membership, or if you are a NaCSBA member but have yet to receive your copy, email Donna Muir via [email protected] and quote ‘report’.