The Hanley Economic Building Society has reported a 35% increase in self-build advances over an 18-month period running from the beginning of January 2019 to the end of June 2020.
The mutual said its extension of self-build and residential product range into Scotland in April 2019 was one of the major driving forces behind this growth. The society’s ‘build for second home’ product – aimed at self-builders looking to construct a second residential home – and the lenders ‘part-complete’ self-build product – aimed at borrowing for projects which are already underway – have also proved key to this increase in advances. Both of these products were launched in December 2019.
The society has also updated its self-build guide to help intermediary partners and their clients become better educated and informed on the self-build market during the current economic climate.
The guide has been updated to include:
- A full costings calculations sheet
- An application checklist
- Ongoing lending criteria
- ‘Extensive’ listings of acceptable and unacceptable self-build property types
Sue Pedley, business development manager at Hanley Economic Building Society, said: “This gradual uplift in self-build business has been generated over a lengthy period, meaning these figures are certainly no flash in the pan. It’s clear that existing homeowners are looking to take greater control over their ever-changing property needs, First-time buyers are also less phased by the self-build process and modern methods of construction continue to push homebuilding boundaries. Factors which suggest that the appeal of self-build is only likely to rise.
“As a lender who is passionate and committed to self-build, we’re proactively engaging with an increasing number of intermediaries to highlight the types of self-build options on offer and break down the processes to demonstrate that this area of lending is not as intimidating as many people think. With that in mind, I urge intermediaries to speak to lenders about the support they can offer which will enable more of their clients to achieve their self-build dreams.”
