Agreement signed on housing construction in Bíldudalur

The first new apartments on the open market in Bildudalur for decades

An agreement has been signed for the new construction of ten apartments in Bíldudalur, with Arnarlax and the municipality of Vesturbyggð cooperating on the project in collaboration with the contractor Hrafnshólar. Arnarlax will own part of the apartments and Vesturbyggð has provided initial contributions for the construction of a proportion of the apartments, but others will be sold on the open market and they will be the first new buildings to go on sale, in the open market, in Bíldudalur for three decades.

There are now plenty of job opportunities in Bíldudalur around fish farming and various support services that have been built up. The municipality has flourished in recent years and the population trend is reversing. The population increase in Vesturbyggð was the largest in the Westfjords last year and the total population in the municipality has increased by 190 in the last ten years, of which about 110 people in the last three years.

It was Rebekka Hilmarsdóttir, mayor of Vesturbyggð, Iða Marsibil Jónsdóttir, president of the town council, Björn Hembre, CEO of Arnarlax, and Ómar Guðmundsson at Hrafnshóll, who specializes in building housing in the countryside, who signed the agreement. Prospective buyers of the apartments will be offered a share loan (hlutdeildarlán) if the conditions are met, which are installment-free loans for up to 75% of the down payment on the apartment.

Björn Hembre, CEO of Arnarlax: “It is important to us that people can create a future life here. Arnarlax recently advertised 37 jobs in one go, of which 31 located here in the Westfjords, but the current supply of housing available in Bíldudalur is not enough to accommodate all these people. Arnarlax therefore decided to work with Vesturbyggð in this development and support the continued development of the municipality. We regard the agreement we have signed today as a turning point in the development of the area. ”

Iða Marsibil Jónsdóttir, president of the town council: “This is an important step in the development of housing in Bíldudalur and thus within the municipality as a whole. After all, there is a great need for residential housing in Vesturbyggð. Now that more than 30 years have passed since a new building in Bíldudalur has been advertised on the open market, it is really positive that this project is becoming a reality in collaboration with Arnarlax and Hrafnshólar.