The money is in the land.
Sure there is profit in building but after you've paid for the land then achieved planning, paid your section 106 payment or Community infrastructure levy to the local authority before being allowed to start and then built the place there aren't the huge sums that people think there is. In this area which borders Bucks, working farmland achieves between £8,500-10,000 per acre. If it's designated for building then it rises to in excess of a £1,000,000 per acre. A typical site for sale near me is 2.4 acres and has permission for 24 houses, along with the houses come the service roads and infrastructure, the cost is £2.4 million which means every property has cost £115,000 before a spade goes in the ground.