Flat-pack homes 'not for first-time buyers'

Planning permission has been granted in Gateshead for the country's first ever building of flat-pack homes but experts say this is no solution to the problems faced by first-time buyers.

Some 117 flat-pack style properties will be built in Gateshead but because the homes, also known as BoKlock, are unmortgageable, they are still unaffordable for many first time buyers.

Paul Holmes, the director of first-time buying specialist Firstrung, says that the homes are useful as an initiative of those in desperate need of shelter but they will not help first-timers to get onto the property ladder.

"These entry-level pre-fab houses are costing approximately £100,000. Where will the first-time buyer get the finance from?" He said.

"Whichever way you look at the whole process, whether you look at it from a quality of housing standpoint, or a mortgageable asset, it doesn't stack up, added Mr Holmes.

He said the Gateshead local authorities could use the homes as temporary accommodation for homeless people.




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