Thousands of overvalued ‘affordable’ homes lie idle
Submitted by admin on Wed, 04/01/2009 - 07:06
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Jennifer Hough
THOUSANDS of over-valued "affordable houses" bought by councils at boom prices are lying vacant because people cannot afford to buy them.
Figures from the Department of the Environment reveal that the number of affordable units has risen 40% — from 2,200 at the end of 2007 to 3,700 today.
Officials are concerned they may only be able to sell off about half the current stock, making the additional 2,270 houses coming on stream this year very problematic to offload.
Added to this, potential buyers cannot secure mortgages because banks will not sanction loans on these overvalued properties, leaving councils searching for other options to deal with the massive housing glut.