MPs say 'dominance' of big home-building firms must end - BBC News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-39752869

All true.

In Germany most people build for themselves. There are relatively few "housing estates", where a company builds dozens of houses.

There's a new estate being built locally by one the of the big firms - over 800 houses. I'm not entirely sure "houses" is the correct term - they're so small, we call them breeding boxes.

According to a local councilor, they paid just £1m for the land - little over £1000 per plot. They made grand statements about being green and using local labour, until they got the gig. Then it was lowest bidder wins and local suppliers were bullied into supplying at pennies above cost.

How can smaller firms compete with that kind of power?

Yep, same here.
Big company applied for permission for 400 houses, even though the loacal roads, schhols, doctors etc are already full. And they're going to build tiny little grot boxes too.