The £52,000 homes that nobody wants

Jun 28 2007 By Jon Griffin, Birmingham Mail

HOMES costing less than £100,000 are going begging in Birmingham city centre because no-one seems to want them.

Apartments for key workers such as teachers, nurses and police officers, are standing empty because would-be purchasers think they are "bog standard", say developers.

But in reality, the apartments boast designer kitchens, luxury bathroom suites and other mod con 21st century facilities.

At one scheme - Viva near the Mailbox - apartments with price tags of as low as £99,500 are going unwanted, with just 40 per cent of the development's affordable homes sold to date.

At Fordbridge, north Solihull, 31 properties at the Chapel Walk development are under construction in a Bellway Homes scheme with price tags from as little as £51,750 for local first-time buyers.

At Viva, would-be buyers, who must work in local government, police, fire, health, education or transport services, pay 75 per cent of the normal sale value and can only sell on at the same percentage rate to benefit future purchasers.

So far, only 2,721 people are currently registered as eligible for an affordable home in the city, of which just 186 have requested a city centre home.

Rod Ackrill, chairman of Chase Homes, said: "Viva offers well designed apartments.

"Unfortunately, the word 'affordable' seems to either baffle people or simply put them off as they immediately associate the word with a basic layout and a 'bog standard' specification. This simply isn't true."