Grand Designs' Kevin McCloud issues caution to homeowners as he says 'I feel sorry'

Grand Designs' host Kevin McCloud has issued a stark warning for anyone looking to get on the property ladder as he says he feels "sorry" for them. The 66-year-old is one of the UK's foremost property experts, presenting Grand Designs since it fired aired on Channel 4 in 1999.

The TV presenter bemoaned the state of the housing market compared to when he bought a house in London back in 1996.

McCloud says he purchased a two-bedroom property in Dulwich, south-east London, for £60,000, but it would cost him a cool £1.2 million today.

Speaking to the Times, he said: "I feel sorry for anyone who's trying to buy a home - not just young people. I bought a two-bedroom house in 1996 for £60,000, which seemed like a lot of money at the time.

"But now it would be £1.2 million and nobody can afford that back in the day, a house cost three or four times what you were earning a year.

"Now in central London and the home counties, a house is up to 14 times the average income."

McCloud also talked about the current "bigger is better" ethos in the housing market.

He reckons people care more about questions like how big their house is, how big their garage is and if they have a pool rather than if there is a beautiful view or atmosphere.

He added: "We've learnt it from America. How good is your house? What's the quality of your house? People aren't comfortable answering questions like that.

"But if you ask them how big it is, how many bedrooms does it have? Does it have a pool? Does it fill the plot to the max? Does it have garage space for five cars? Those are the things that matter to people more than a view or a beautiful atmosphere, which have nothing to do with money at all."

The veteran TV presenter recently shared the "nonsense" mistake people are making when it comes to designing their own homes.

He claimed the desire to make a house look like a showroom is "nonsense".

Speaking to the Express.co.uk he said: "There are two or three (mistakes) we all know, most of the websites deal with the common ones - budgeting and spreadsheets and the rest. Getting three quotes in.

"But I think actually asking for help is a really big one. People don't ask for enough help. We're all arrogant enough to think that we can do things ourselves without asking for professional or expert help. That's important.

"Make it of them (your family). Make it of you. Do not make it seem as if it's some kind of contemporary furniture showroom. That's all nonsense. You need to make it yours. You need to populate it with books or furniture, objects, stuff, things, possessions. Your life, no one elses."