Agent Will

Striking headline, isn’t it? You better sit down for this one. Imagine a private, for profit organization better known for household furniture (easily identifiable household furniture, I might add) getting in on the housing game. That’s not difficult is it? Now imagine that this mega-corp had a deeply passionate corporate philosophy of delivering style and quality to the masses at a very affordable price. Have you guessed which company I am alluding to? If you said Ikea, you’re right.

Ikea, with an old tag line of “Swedish by Design” have been partnering up with various local developers in Finland, Sweden, and England to deliver the BoKlok (pronounced Booklook). No, you do not get to assemble it yourself and no allen keys are required. They come in several designs from apartments to townhomes and are not available on the open market. To get one you need to apply and those they find meeting the criteria are offered a chance to purchase one. The aim is to affordably and stylishly house moderate income earners such as teachers and nurses. In other words, flippers and speculators need not apply.

The homes do not come furnished (though they do come with a $500 gift certificate to Ikea) but the design is unmistakably Ikea. Being prefabricated enables the builders to control costs both in materials and labour as the time on site to finish the project is significantly lessened. Building in a factory the major components of the home also grants the advantage of being able to ensure a higher quality. Pre-fab homes are not new and even in BC we have our own Britco who have been awarded a contract to pre-fab house the athletes in Whistler for the 2010 games. You may also have toured some of their work as the builders of the PNE prize homes. They also develop classrooms and portable offices, some you may drive by and not even know they were a Britco product. Are you listening Britco? There is a great need for this type of home here.

Energy efficiency and sustainable development materials are a primary concern for the BoKlok homes, over 800 of which have already been completed in Sweden. The homes in Gateshead, UK will be sold for $260,000 with an aim at consumers earning between $30,000 and $70,000. The marketing material claims that is below the cost of comparable market prices and that they are priced to be reasonable to the purchasing and rental markets.

I’ve been writing from time to time about alternative housing schemes and think that this is just one more example of what we could use in Vancouver as a solution to our affordable housing crunch. There is definitely a stigma against pre-fab in Canada but this is a very common and successful practice in Europe and Japan (where even Toyota is in on the game). I can see this becoming a very viable option in the future as developers look to become more efficient and control costs while trying to meet construction deadlines.

Click here to see the BoKluk Gateshead site