Ikea to ease affordable housing worries

11-Aug-2005

Swedish firm Ikea, best known for its flat-pack wardrobes and tables, looks set to go one step further by providing aspiring homeowners in the UK with their own house.

A range of timber-framed apartments that arrive on the back of a lorry are being delivered to plots around the UK and many people see the new scheme as the answer to the country's increasing affordable housing crisis.

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Around 500 modular 'BoKlok' homes, which come complete with communal garden, Swedish apple tree and benches, are expected to appear across the country over the next three years, and first time buyers and key workers look likely to be those who benefit most from the scheme.

Developed in a joint project between Ikea and Scandinavian property developer Skanska, 2,000 of the apartments have already been sold in Sweden, and now it is hoped that the scheme can be successfully implemented in the UK to provide key worker homes and properties for aspiring first time buyers.

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Although no price for the properties has been set as yet, they are aimed at first time buyers with incomes of between £12,500 and £30,000.

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