London will subsidize ‘naked’ homes to aid in housing crisis

How much do you think an apartment would cost without finishes like new floors, cabinets, partition walls, and built-in coffee machines? In London, it can be as much as 40 percent less than typical new builds. At least, that’s the calculation bolstering the concept of “naked” homes—new apartments lacking in all but the barest essentials.

Flooring? Nope. Interior walls? Nada. But those details (which, let’s face it, often run counter to the tastes of the homebuyer) also drive up the price of of the home. In London, the average home price is roughly $741,300. But leave off all the frills, and that price tag can get as low as $191,715.

That number sure made London’s housing-conscious mayor sit up and take notice. Mayor Sadiq Khan is now planning to subsidize these basic abodes, starting with a 22-unit pilot project across three sites in north London. If they’re successful, the program will be expanded.

Image via Dezeen

“The idea is to strip out all of the stuff that people don’t want in the first place,” said Simon Chouffot, a founder of the non-profit developer Naked House, in an interview with The Guardian. “People want to do some of the custom building. We can make it affordable by people doing some of the work themselves.”

Via: The Guardian