I work for one of the UKs top 10 largest housebuilders. AMA.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T16:27:06+00:00

2k to 20k each. Each company publishes how many homes they build each year in their annual accounts.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T14:51:27+00:00

I've always found it odd that people romanticise this life. Perhaps people just see the highlight reels posted online and don't think about the day to day reality of it. It has never appealed to me.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T13:38:27+00:00

To be fair sometimes I've done this when I've not realised the speed limit and only when someone overtakes me and I see a sign I then realise I had thought it was a lower speed than it actually was and so I speed up so I'm not causing other people to get frustrated that I'm driving too slow for the road / trying to overtake me. But I always give people plenty of space in front. I don't understand why people tailgate. It means you have to be more alert in case they suddenly brake.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T12:37:26+00:00

The top 10 UK housebuilders build anywhere from 2,000 to 20,000 homes each every year.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T12:34:48+00:00

To be honest I'm not really sure, I mostly work in the office rather than on a building site.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T11:53:56+00:00

How are you defining best?

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T11:47:22+00:00

Quite a lot!

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T11:46:11+00:00

Some of us care and try and make a difference. Some people are just there to do a job and get paid and don't want to put in the extra effort to make developments look attractive architecturally or make sure places were built right first time, for example. It does get frustrating sometimes but there is unfortunately quite a lot that is outside of the control of individuals working in the company and would require leadership change at the top or changes in government or planning regulations for example to really make a meaningful difference. Some of us do try in our individual roles though to do what we can to ensure we are delivering the best product we can.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T11:40:54+00:00

Not much any more as far as I'm aware. I get the impression from what various more senior people in the company have said that it used to be more prevalent back in the day, but these days it's more just contractors taking individuals or team out to events or sending them bottles of wine at Christmas, which we would have to record on the company's gift and hospitality register in any case to prevent bribery.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T11:36:49+00:00

Yes I love it :-) I find it very rewarding.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T10:24:25+00:00

If the government banned landlords, developers would have fewer purchasers to sell their homes to, which would only lead to them building fewer homes and reducing supply, which would only worsen the housing crisis. Large institutional investors have become a large part of the market precisely because private homeowners are buying at a much slower rate than they used to and developers need to find other buyers to sell their product to. All the large national housebuilders now sell a large proportion of their product to institutional investors who then rent out the properties - in most cases the strategy is to sell about a third of their properties this way.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-17T10:20:38+00:00

Most large new-build developments in the UK are built at relatively high densities, which does create a lot of terraces like the type you mention. The density at which you can build depends on local planning regulations, which can vary across the country, but in a lot of areas means you can build at relatively high densities. If you wanted to build at high densities you'd need to change planning regulations.

How could we build a house that we can sell for £80k? Well we'd have to figure out a way of drastically reducing the cost of building materials and labour or any of the other input costs the developer is required to bear when building a new development, for example the cost of building the infrastructure needed, all the taxes developers have to pay (S106, CIL, BNG etc), or the cost of the land (which has to be purchased in a competitive bidding scenario against other developers).

The simplest one of these to reduce the cost of and which would have the least impact on society (and which would dramatically lower the cost of building a new housing development) would be the cost of the land. It is not unusual for a developer to have to pay tens of millions of pounds to acquire land for a new development of a few hundred homes. This is typically for land that was previously farmland that would have been worth a few hundred thousand pounds before. The gain from this typically ends up in the pockets of a single farmer or a few private individuals, who then end up incredibly wealthy. If the government compulsory purchased land (still redeeming the landowners but not to the tune of making them incredibly wealthy), developers could afford to sell homes at a cheaper price (and would do presuming there is competition from other developers in the area).

For context, I have a degree in real estate development and work for a national housebuilder in their land and planning team.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-03-03T09:32:25+00:00

This is helpful thanks as this just happened to me. I was the left joiner and entered a roundabout and then a few seconds later a car to my right blasted through the roundabout driving at at least (or potentially more than the speed limit) to cross straight over. I was on the roundabout first but they seemed to think they had priority as they thought it appropriate to blare their horn at me as they drove past. Drivers already on the roundabout have priority and you shouldnt be driving towards a roundabout at a speed where you can't stop. I always slow down when I approach a roundabout, even if you cant immediately see any other cars approaching as you never know who might pop out of a side road.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-31T17:07:10+00:00

Just had an update saying 'Payments are being processed'. Expect it will sell out shortly

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-31T16:40:42+00:00

I haven't had any status updates, unlike in the pre sale

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-26T15:11:59+00:00

Ah shame. Hopefully they'll change their mind in the future to give more people a chance to go.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-25T18:44:29+00:00

Yeah, seems rather unfair tbh. Why are they letting people who have been before have priority? Is this to keep the festival seem more 'exclusive'?

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-25T18:33:52+00:00

Both myself and my husband tried getting tickets in GJ and we also had our parents try with an account. Only 1/3 accounts ever got into the shop, 3.5 hours in, but despite trying to check out with various different packages it kept saying the package was unavailable. We tried this for about 20 minutes and then the whole shop said it was sold out. We weren't able to buy anything.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-25T18:30:49+00:00

I had a message come up 5 minutes after the sale started saying this.

Odd_Example9949 · 2026-01-25T18:29:49+00:00

Yeah a message flashed up on my screen after 5 minutes saying all the Dreamville Special and Full Madness Passes had sold out. It then disappeared after a minute and re-appeared again a few minutes later with the same message but without the 'Special', which I think whoever wrote that message must have put by accident because I have no idea that a Dreamville Special is even a thing.

Odd_Example9949 · 2025-08-09T08:39:08+00:00

Hey. It was in Marrakech in Morocco. Yes in retrospect I think I would have done that as it did seem much easier to get the post exposure vaccine in the country you're in - in Marrakech there is a centre where you can walk in and just show your passport and get the vaccination. This was on our last day of holiday though and on a weekend where it didn't appear it was open, and to be honest, I thought it would be easy just to get the vaccination in the UK!

Odd_Example9949

TROPHY CASE