PROPERTY speculators have splashed out £2million on 18 luxury apartments before a brick has been laid.

The quick-fire sale of the £100,000-plus one and two bedroomed apartments in Preston New Road, Beardwood, was today hailed as further evidence of the East Lancashire housing boom.

The businessmen are hoping the investment will reap dividends, with property prices in Blackburn expected to continue rising at a time when other forms of investment offer low returns.

The sale comes just weeks after estate agents revealed a London doctor had bought four houses in Accrington for £50,000 each without even viewing them.

Official government figures show the average house price in Blackburn has gone up from £52,732 in 2000 to £85,124 by June 2004.

Experts predict that figure will soar by a further 15.6 per cent over the next five years.

Anthony Hutt, sales manager of Preston-based Pringle Homes, which is behind the Blackburn development, revealed a consortium of businessmen had bought the apartments for what is believed to be around £2million.

Mr Hutt added: "The opportunity was there for them to take a gamble on the market keep going up.

"They approached us before they were officially put up for sale."

A 'sold' sign is the only giveaway to what the future holds for the overgrown land, the former site of Beardwood Garden Centre.

Construction of the three-storey building is expected to start next month, but the sale of the apartments was finalised in May.

The buyers, whose identity has not been revealed, handed the cash on the basis of drawings and plans.

Mr Hutt said he expected the businessmen themselves to live in some of the flats, while renting the others out to young professionals and families.

He added: "They will be very high quality one and two bedroomed apartments with lifts and an underground car park.

"It will be a very handsome building and will fit in very well. They are a bit different to what else is in the town."

Graham Burgess, Blackburn with Darwen Council's regeneration executive director, said: "This is an indication of a healthy housing market and suggests that people feel the area is worth investing in."

A spokesman for the Halifax said: "Cases like this have become more common, with people buying something as an investment as soon as they can to stop it being taken by someone else."

Property prices across East Lancashire are generally on the up. Ribble Valley leads the way, with the average house now selling for £209,407 -- up 70.5per cent on the year. In Hyndburn, prices rose 39.5per cent to £64,39 over the last year, while in Burnley, a 15per cent rise to £46,417 was recorded over the year.

In Pendle, the average house sold for £56,805, up 25.6per cent in a year, and in Rossendale, a 25.2per cent rise in Rossendale, to £96,548, was recorded.