Liverpool City Council reported that 2,750 people have expressed an interest in buying one of the 120 empty terraced properties in the Picton area under the council’s “Homes for a Pound” scheme.

The derelict and boarded-up properties are for sale in Britannia Avenue, Altcar Avenue, Childwall Avenue, Dorset Avenue, Bird Street, Richardson Street, Garrick Street, Tunstall Street and Webster Road.

The Homes for a Pound scheme, started by Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson in 2013, aims to regenerate deprived parts of the city and help the economy.

In the first tranche of the project 20 homes were sold around Granby Four Streets and Arnside Road.

Tony Mousdale, empty homes manager of Liverpool City Council, told the BBC: “All the plumbing and the electrics and fixtures and fittings have been ripped out – so it is pretty much a shell. It’s a blank canvas and people can put their own stamp on it.”

Applicants for the scheme must live or work in the Liverpool City Council boundary, be in paid employment and be a first time buyer. Those with children and a good credit history have priority and must “demonstrate they have the resources to undertake the cost of the refurbishment work”. Buyers cannot sell the homes for five years.

The applicants will be contacted by the end of October to let them know about the next stage in the process.