One of the most common questions that people keep asking is whether it is better to buy or build their own home. Is it cheaper to buy a house or to build your own? A number of people view building ones’ properties as more affordable than purchasing an already developed one. They have different reasons for providing these kinds of answers. Here is a compilation of answers from some developers on which they believe is more expensive:

At face value, the answer would seem to be building your own house is cheaper than buying one from a developer. What the typical self-build homeowner ignores is the value of their time. It takes on average 8 years for self-build and self-finance homeowners to complete their properties. If you value your time on an hourly basis, multiply that by the number of weekends and years project managing it yourself. In addition, without the right expertise and experience, mistakes and unforeseen wastage can add up significantly – Ernest Hanson of Lifestyle Properties

People think the price of developed properties is expensive, but the cost of an acre of land in a prime location can be sold for three million dollars. Some individuals cannot buy unless a developer buys and maximizes the land – Kwesi Anderson of Whitewall Properties

It depends on the location the buyer desires; If a buyer doesn’t mind living outside a tier 1 residential area, then building on a purchased land is more affordable because the land is significantly cheaper. However, if the buyer wants to be in one of a tier 1 residential area (Cantonments, Ridge, Airport Residential, Labone etc.),  buying from a developer is more convenient and affordable than building because of one main reason, readily available plots of land and exorbitant land prices. Land sizes available for sale are typically from 0.5 acres to two acres going for about two million dollars an acre. The home one may want to build could sit comfortably on a tenth (1/10th) of an acre. However, that size of land is not available on the market. A developer who then develops a gated community of homes on an acre, all of a sudden has given the buyer an opportunity to own 1/10th of an acre in the prime location of Accra, an opportunity which was only made available because of a Developer – Cyril Tay of Devtraco Plus

What are your thoughts? Which would you go for? Let us know what you think on our Youtube, Twitter and Facebook Pages

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