Council officials in Cork say they are concerned that the public are not aware of the value of their affordable housing scheme.
Despite the obvious savings Cork County Council officials have suffered a difficult task selling off the homes.
Under the initiative the price of housing is at a much lower rate than the price tag on a house in the open market. As long as the set criteria are fulfilled by applicants then they could expect a massive saving on the price of a new home.
Under the Government backed affordable housing initiative, new homes are provided by Cork County Council on land owned by the local authority at a discounted price to eligible purchasers. Houses priced normally at €200,000 are sold by the council for approximately €140,000.
One example of this is at a development in Fermoy where a 76-house scheme received just 31 applicants despite the fact that initially there were 100 inquiries. The uptake of similar schemes in Youghal has also been slow.
Some recent schemes developed by the council in the Cork South Rural area include 44 units at Carrigtwohill, eight houses at Capagh, Kinsale, four two-bed units at River Street, Cloyne and 12 houses at Castlemartyr in East Cork.
Applications are being accepted for 20 three-bed semi-detached houses at Seafield in Youghal. A council source said the problem mainly lies with the public's perception of affordable housing.