Speak to most leading housebuilders and they’ll say that they can afford to be selective when buying land, purchasing only the most profitable plots. MJ Gleeson does the opposite.
The 112-year-old Sheffield-based developer buys land that local authorities struggle to sell in socially deprived areas and turns them into affordable homes for people on low incomes. The average selling price is £125,700. By way of contrast, Barratt, Britain’s biggest housebuilder, has an average selling price of £289,800.
Once the government’s Help to Buy scheme is factored in, MJ Gleeson can sell a two-bed semi-detached with garden and drive to a couple with a combined salary of £32,000. That’s £67 a week with the right mortgage, compared with £74 per week for a typical council house