Read any of the recent house price reports and you will find a similar story: the lack of properties on the market is a major factor driving up their cost. It is not only that homeowners aren't selling – experts say we are simply not building enough homes to sustain a growing population.

Some say the danger is that the government's new Help to Buy scheme, which makes 95% mortgages more readily available, increases the appetite for housebuying – but fails to tackle the supply deficit. According to figures from the National Housing Federation, more than 240,000 extra homes per year are needed in England alone over the next 20 years. "We're currently not even building half that," says Stuart Ropke, assistant director of the NHF. "Help to Buy is a sticking-plaster that will not fix our broken housing market nor help people who are currently excluded from home ownership."

The government may have pledged to build more homes, but some buyers are finding their own solutions to the supply crisis.

Flatpack homes



Flatpack or affordable architect-designed kit homes cost up to around 20% less than conventional homes, as they cut out the developer's profit. They are mostly built in factories and moved to plots of land around the UK where they are erected to instructions, just like a piece of Ikea furniture.

Building your own home is seen as something of a niche activity, but the government is keen for that to change. An array of new measures to encourage and support affordable self-build housing projects has been announced by the government, with self-build communities able to apply for a share of £65m from the Affordable Homes Guarantees Programme.

Meanwhile, new planning practice guidance is being introduced to ensure councils cater to the demand for self-build in their area, with council tax discounts to be introduced for self-build family annexes.

Ted Stevens, chairman of the National Self-Build Association, says: "The cost of land can be incredibly expensive for self-builders."

However, some councils are considering leasing plots to people, so they don't have to shell out up front for the land purchase, with Middlesbrough council looking to do a "build now pay later" deal – so you get access to the land to build on without any upfront cost, and only pay for it when you take out a mortgage once the home is completed.

Retired police officer Jan Harrison, 52, has bypassed the problem of finding and buying a plot by building her home in her parents' garden. Her home, designed to be energy-efficient, is being constructed using highly insulated Sips Eco Panels.

She is paying around £100,000 for a small 650 sq ft house, with a kitchen, bathoom, bedroom and separate ensuite. The foundation is currently being laid in her parent's garden in Farnham, Surrey.

"I took early redundancy due to illness and couldn't afford the mortgage where I was living, so stayed with mum and dad until I came up with a solution," she says. "It's funded from a pension lump sum, along with a small amount of savings, and the cost includes red tape for such things as surveys and topographical studies." She says this route means she can avoid the "financial noose" of a large mortgage, as well as make use of her parents' land. "They're not keen gardeners," she says.

For more information go to sipsecopanels.co.uk, selfbuildportal.org.uk and nasba.org.uk (the National Self-Build Association).

Housing co-ops



Small communities are cropping up in housing co-ops around the UK in areas suffering under-supply. In Bramley, Leeds, 20 homes have been developed in a former school at the Lilac (Low Impact Living Affordable Community) estate. They are owned and managed by the householders, and make use of straw bales for insulation and solar thermal panels. Alongside individual homes there is a communal house with shared cooking, eating, laundry, leisure and meeting facilities.

Maria and Avalino Santos, who live with their two sons Samuel, four, and Edgar, two, at the estate, put down 10% of the £120,000 that their homecost to build. They pay 35% of their net income into the mutual society that runs the co-op, totalling £800 a month.

Maria, a senior support worker, says: "I was attracted to this community because it's back to old-fashioned values, as we know our neighbours, and share cars and childcare. I look after one girl every Tuesday, and there is loads of space for families with kids to play. We wanted to feel part of something, and it solved the problem of finding somewhere affordable."

The freehold is owned by the Mutual Home Ownership Society, which is set up and managed by the member–residents, who are granted 20-year leaseholds.

The total value of the project is divided into equity shares, with homeowners allocated a certain amount of these according to the size of their home and their income level. If residents choose to leave the development they are able to cash in their "shares" in the society, which newcomers can then buy.

For more information go to diggersanddreamers.org.uk and radicalroutes.org.uk

Micro-flats



"Micro-flats", often with less than 200 sq ft of living space, are cropping up in major cities where housing demand is outstripping supply.

Pocket Living, a specialist developer, is working with local authorities to identify public land in London that could be used to build small flats. It targets singles and couples who earn too much to qualify for affordable housing yet are priced out of the most central locations. Typically, the homes are 20% below local market value. More than 200 have been built at schemes in Camden, Hammersmith, Ealing and Westminster. The next will be in Hackney.

To qualify, potential buyers must earn less than £66,000 a year – the figure the mayor set for applicants to qualify for affordable housing.

First-time buyer Nick Hunt, 23, a trainee accountant, has bought a one-bedroom flat through Pocket in Hammersmith, west London, with his girlfriend Veeneeta Joshi, 24, a buyer for Marks & Spencer. They have a joint income of around £50,000.

"We thought we'd have to move out of London and commute to work to afford a home, but this option cost a lot less than any of the other flats we saw – and is an ideal way for us to get on the housing ladder," he says. "The block, which was an old BBC building, makes very efficient use of space and we look forward to moving in in January."

The mayor of London has lent nearly £22m to Pocket, which is being put towards building hundreds more homes in various boroughs by 2016.