Posted on 07/17/2007 8:35:04 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Nine “Ikea” villages could be built in Britain within a year, in the strongest sign yet that the future is flat-packed.
Plans are under way for more than 1,000 Swedish-style kit homes across the country, to cater for the increasing numbers of first-time buyers for whom most homes are now well beyond budget.
A radical experiment is emerging as a solution to the crisis in affordable and sustainable housing, with developers predicting a tenfold increase in the number of flat-pack homes within five years. Starting with the assembly of 120 timber-framed homes in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, this autumn, the housing revolution is set for Scotland, Tyne and Wear, Yorkshire, the Midlands and Essex, where cut-price homes will be delivered in multiple parts, from the factory floor.
Promoters believe that the BoKlok concept, a joint venture between Ikea and Skanska that began in the mid1990s, could present the key to affordable, sustainable housing. The Prime Minister put the housing crisis at the top of the political agenda this week, pledging to build three million affordable homes by 2020.
Thanks to the Scandinavian design, which includes features that save energy and costs, the BoKlok concept offers a rare opportunity for buyers – a property with a five-figure price tag. Apartments begin at £90,000, and three-bedroom family properties are for sale at less than £150,000, pushing clear water between the price of a flat-pack home and £200,000plus cost of the average British house.
A report published yesterday showed that homeowners moving up the property ladder can expect to pay up to £115,000 for one extra bedroom.
Oversubscription, say developers, is inevitable. “People are desperate,” Alan Prole, managing director of Live Smart, the British partner of BoKlok, said. “The stark reality is that there are millions of families out there who will never get on the property ladder unless companies like us create housing options for them. We cannot create higher volumes of housing using traditional methods. This concept enables us to create a new generation of sustainable housing.”
More than 800 people have registered serious interest in the properties which will be assembled in Gateshead later this year. A lottery is one of the options being considered. Mr Prole said: “In Scandinavia, a local town mayor will draw names from a hat, but that feels somewhat mercenary. That might be a bit too emotional for us.”
Within weeks of being shipped from a factory in Milton Keynes, the brown-field site in Gateshead will feature L-shaped blocks, containing six one or two-bedroom apartments with communal car parks and private balconies. New owners even receive a furniture voucher for Ikea stores. Three different types of tenure will be on offer – shared ownership, below market rent and outright sale, with legal agreements ensuring that buy-to-let arrangements will be discouraged.
More than 2,500 BoKlok homes have been sold in Scandinavia, at about 20 per cent less than the market price for similarly sized properties, and at least 800 are being built every year.
Experts have said that the BoKlok concept may not be the answer to all social housing ills. Pippa Collins, acting editor for Build It magazine, said: “Anything that helps people get on the property ladder should be encouraged, but this is only one specific solution.
“It doesn’t address the national problem of rising interest rates, of the home improvement kits debacle, or address the problem of how buying and selling houses works in this country.”
I must admit yardwork is pissing me off when its 95 outside L0L
I loved all of the ‘extra’ features they put into the kits. A built in sideboard in the dining room; pantries in the kitchen; nooks and window seats galore. And porches...if I remember so many of the designes had porches off of the living rooms. Really cool site.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Mies van der Rohe got on his wife’s bad side one day. He spent weeks in the bauauhaus.
True. but those associations can wind up with nazis in charge after the fact.
In ours you couldnt’t change out a light fixture to something nicer without hiring an electrician and getting board approval.
Then you would have to hire an electrician again to change it back to the old fixture, should you decide to sell.
All this was pending board approval. A royal pain in the rear.
I could swap out a fixture in 1/2 hour, but the board says, you might burn the place down. Hooking the white wire to the white wire is a complex matter L0L
You couldnt paint, couldnt paper, couldnt put out a windowbox.
I found it oppressive
THAT is oppressive.....I’ve lived in 5 condo’s....and the one we are in right now is the only one that has suffered a couple of Nazi’s....but, we had elected some VERY experienced and reasonable people to the Board that helped shut them down.....course it took us 2 years and $5000 in attorney fees.....one of the “Nazi’s” is a retired attorney! But, our most experienced Board member is an 83 year old former construction manager.....who runs circles around all the young’ns here. He was a godsend! HOA’s are Political playgrounds....ya gotta play it that way.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Its like having the neighbors in court everyday L0L
At current rates, £150K equals $308,188.72 .
Three hundred and change for a friggin' crackerbox.
That's a bit much even out here in the overinflated southwest.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
Yup.
I’m not the guy across the street that paints his house electric purple and puts a couple of old cars in the yard, but I tend to shy towards individualism
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
It can look sterile/industrial to some eyes, but to each his own. : )
Hopefully, the flat-pack concept will help out the first-home buyers. I remember the Carter years and the bleak outlook in home ownership.
Different strokes for different folks
I think that art form has already been thought of.
How about "Big is Beautiful"? Or maybe "Greed is Good", Yeah, that's the ticket. These phrases are copywrited by:
yitbos
As a kid I lived in veterans housing, Roger Young Village (Glendale), CA., from 1948-'52, a prefab "quonset hut".
yitbos
Does this mean the demise of the inflatable village?
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