Gus Zogolovitch

Will custom build really change the UK housing market?

The UK is an anomaly in terms of housebuilding. We sit at the very bottom of the worldwide league table in terms of the numbers of custom build and self-build homes we build at around 10% of total new builds each year.  This compares unfavourably to places like France or Germany where 60% of all new homes are custom or self-build.   In the UK about 60% of our new homes are built by the top ten volume housebuilders.  New innovation takes time to be adopted, and the custom build industry is still young. It took about 30 years for olive oil to move from the shelves of Boots the chemist to our supermarkets, so it could easily be 30 years before we rethink the way we build and buy our homes! In the meantime, however, we continue to believe in our vision that homes that are more adaptable, better designed and greater value for money will one day be the norm!

Inhabit Homes is a pioneer in the UK’s emerging Custom Build homes market, and Metropolitan Workshop have been exchanging ideas with Gus on how the product might be developed and where opportunities might lie.

Gus Zogolovitch, Managing Director