Even though a recent report from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has shown that the industry is experiencing a marked slowdown, BuildStore remains bullish.
Instead it believes that the increase in value of its self build total loans during 2007 indicates just how buoyant the market is.
However the firm does agree with RICS over the likelihood that government targets will be missed
The upshot of developers' continued focus on high density flats is that the popularity of self-build is increasing.
The area of the market now accounts for a third of all new detached homes as people seeking large family homes of high spec and quality become fed up with a lack of supply.
Another plus is the relative affordability of self-builds, with the resulting property ending up worth 25-30 per cent more than both the cost of the built and the land it sits on.
John Hay, head of financial services marketing and product development at BuildStore advised: “New finance schemes are available which remove the cashflow problems which used to exist, and facilities like the National Self Build and Renovation Centre in Swindon provide information and education about the process giving people the confidence to tackle their own projects.”
