New £100,000 homes for Cambridge
Mayor James Palmer has announced that the Laragh Homes site on Histon Road has been chosen as the first location in Cambridge on which £100,000 homes will be built.
The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority is pioneering the £100k homes scheme to help those struggling to get a foot on the housing ladder in the region.
It wants to help address the issue of many people being locked out of the property market, which forces them to pay expensive private rents that limit their ability to save for their future.
The scheme provides one-bedroom properties for potential purchasers to buy and own outright for £100,000.
The discounted homes help housing developers to meet their affordable homes obligations.
Laragh Homes is building three £100k homes as part of its new development on Histon Road. The homes are due to be complete by March 2022, and advertising to attract new candidates for the homes will begin later this year.
Mr Palmer, the Tory leader of the Combined Authority, said: “I always said we could build £100k homes anywhere in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, even right in the centre of Cambridge where property is at its most expensive. With the help of Laragh Homes, we have now proved it can be done.”
He added: “The fact that there’s a housing crisis is well known; what we need are new solutions to fix it. I am proud that together with forward-thinking developers such as Laragh Homes, and with the support of local leaders, we can provide these high-quality properties, with affordable deposits and reasonable mortgages, to hardworking local people.
“I am pleased that we will soon be able to offer them this first step on the ladder and a home of their own.”
Daniel Zeichner, Cambridge’s Labour MP, said: “I welcome all projects to help give more Cambridge people an affordable place to call home. These homes will only satisfy the tip of the iceberg in terms of demand. We need a concerted effort to tackle Cambridge’s affordable housing crisis.”
The first eight £100k homes under the scheme were built in Fordham and made available to eligible buyers in September 2020.
There is no limit to how long someone can live in a £100k home, but they cannot be let or sub-let.
When buyers come to sell a £100k home, the Combined Authority says it will be revalued and sold at the same percentage discount at which it was bought. For example, a £100,000 home worth £200,000 on the open market that is later valued at £220,000, would be sold at £110,000. The Combined Authority would allocate the home to the next purchaser. Its allocations policy is designed to give higher scores to those applicants seeking to buy houses close to where they work and in communities where they have strong connections.
To register your interest, or for more information about £100k homes, visit 100khomes.co.uk.
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