A one-bedroom flat has been sold for £198,000 after being on the market for just three days.
That may not seem unusual to readers in London or the regenerated heart of Manchester or Birmingham; but this flat is in central Sunderland and was sold by a registered social landlord, Sunderland Housing Group.

Sunderland is widely recognised as an area of housing market failure and the average price for a flat of any size there is just £63,135.

The £198,000 sale is part of SHG's plans to regenerate the city centre by providing a range of houses to accommodate the wealthy, as well as the socially and economically excluded.

Stewart Allen, head of SHG's Emperor Property Management, formed in May 2002, said: "We are reclaiming the town for residential use – something private developers haven't dared to do – and have uncovered a huge market."

Emperor has three buildings in the deprived Sunniside area, which Allen estimates are worth a combined £7.5m. They will be converted into 45 flats. Profits will be put back into social housing.

Source

Housing Today