The announcement that the Swedes (in the form of the BoKlok joint venture between Ikea and Skanska) are to deliver affordable housing in Worthing is good news, especially where homes are said to cost 12 times local salaries.

The planned 162 flats in Worthing will not be BoKlok's first development; there has been much publicity about its previous schemes, for example, in Gateshead back in 2008. BoKlok is also not the only provider of flat-pack homes because other providers of flat-pack or factory built homes do exist. However, this BoKlok project is another example of how the housing sector is changing from traditional on-site construction to off-site, factory built manufacturing. There is every indication that this change is here to stay and if it can help solve the shortage in housing (including affordable homes) then it must be a change for the better.

In London, for example, the average home still costs £472,230 (UK House Price Index January 2019) and this is despite the continued fall in prices. As a potential home buyer myself I am happy for this trend to continue. At the same time, however, I will also be looking into the flat-pack option. I already possess a large collection of Ikea supplied Allen keys although the various unintelligible sets of instructions have been composted.