NORWICH – The asking prices of three homes being built and sold by the city to replace blighted properties will likely be about 12 percent higher than previously estimated, officials confirmed Monday.

Funded with Restore NY grant money and city development dollars, once officially for sale the homes are expected to range between $99,000 and $107,000. Those numbers won’t be final until construction is finished on all the houses in the next three to six weeks.

Only families with a moderate income – between $60,000 and $70,000 annually – who have never bought a home before are eligible to purchase the properties. Rough projections in September put their prices between $90,000 and $95,000.

Mayor Joseph P. Maiurano and City Finance Director Williams Roberts said the increase in the estimated sale prices is a reflection of the finalized construction costs becoming more clear as the projects near completion.

The current asking prices allow the city to fully recover the tax dollars it invested in the properties – about $313,000 – and still offer the homes at a price officials believe is affordable.

“That’s been the goal of this project all along,” said Roberts.

According to financial calculators, a family earning $65,000 per year can afford a $216,910 home with a monthly mortgage payments (with 7.5 percent interest) of $1,516.

With a 15 percent down payment, the 30-year mortgage on the most expensive Restore NY home (at 7.5 percent interest) would be $635.93 per month.