Architect Launches First-Time Buyer Home Kit

A Scottish architect is planning to help first-time buyers with the launch of a £40,000 kit home.

Home buyers will be able to buy the kit house online and have the keys within 10 days if the vision of Scottish architect, Andrew Stoane takes off.

He aims to develop a house building system for 'future urban living' to help tackle the shortage and affordability of housing. He has received funding from the Edinburgh Pre-Incubator Scheme (EPIS) and the Edinburgh Technology Fund to support the launch of his company, Anabo. He will buy plots, obtain planning permission, lay building foundations and buy pre-fabricated houses from a construction company.


Customers would visit Anabo's website to find a location, order their house, configure it to their own requirements and arrange the finance. Within 10 days the house should be ready for occupation.

While the concept is at an early stage, Stoane plans to have a prototype house constructed at a site in Edinburgh by the autumn and a pilot scheme up and running in Scotland next year. His aim is to expand Anabo into a global housing supplier.

He said: "As far as I know there aren't any other companies which will manage the whole process from start to finish. I came up with the idea to tackle the problem of affordability. With the average UK house price now £200,000, it is virtually impossible for a 21-year-old on £20,000 to buy their first home. Also, as an architect, it annoys me that the housing industry is refusing to modernise, and I want to change that."

Stoane said the total cost of a home will be £1,000 per sqm. He will offer a range of designs, including a 40 sqm pod for £40,000 aimed at first-time buyers, and a 120 sqm family home for £120,000.

(GK/JM)