HomeBuy hope for buyers facing 10-year saving slog
Shared ownership can make property purchase dream a reality
sooner and in a way that first-time buyers can truly afford, says
Bev Hall, Sales and Marketing Director at Bromford Homes
TEN years to save a mortgage deposit? According to the latest
headlines, that's how long it will take before one in four future
first-time buyers are able to clamber on the first rung of the
property ladder.
Their forecast − revealed in a new Building Societies
Association report − comes as no surprise. And I'm not surprised
either that the national newspaper story highlighting the saving
struggle faced by so many first-time buyers didn't mention shared ownership.
It was a similar story a week or so ago when another story
highlighted the plight of Generation
Rent − the "army of renters" locked out of home ownership
because they can't afford the tens of thousands of pounds needed
for a deposit.
A very real problem but no mention of shared ownership as an
equally real solution for many of the people who feel trapped in
private rented flats and houses.
Why? Well, partly because although HomeBuy shared ownership has
helped so many first-time buyers to realise the dream of affordable
home ownership, it's misunderstood by some, myths abound and,
despite publicity campaigns, our part buy-part rent package remains
one of housing's best-kept secrets.
It's a fact − and all the more surprising at a time when the
need for affordable housing has arguably never been greater and the
aspiration to own a home remains as strong as ever.
Making dream a reality
Experts tell us that house prices have risen three times faster
than real incomes over the past decade and, with the credit squeeze
seemingly here to stay, 25% of future first-time buyers tell the
BSA it will take them a decade or more to save the tens of
thousands they need as a deposit for a traditional mortgage.
Saving is, of course, a good thing but ten years is a long, long
time and shared ownership can make that dream of home ownership a
reality much sooner − and without the need for huge deposits or
stretching themselves beyond what they can really afford.
We've got lots of real-life examples here at Bromford Homes but
let's look at just one − The
Farthings in Telford, where cousins Jo Doody and Ellie Buttery
and their respective partners have just bought beighbouring
homes.
Both couples were living in rented homes before and wanted to
realise their property-owning dreams but struggled with the high
deposits and home loans needed for traditional outright purchase.
They say they found the ideal solution with shared ownership, which
means buying between 25% and 75% of a new home and paying low rent
on the remaining share.
Get on the property ladder
"Shared ownership was the only way we were able to get on the
property ladder. I would recommend it every time to anyone who,
like us, struggles to become a first-time buyer," says sales and
marketing co-ordinator Jo. Ellie, a 26-year-old library assistant
who's on maternity leave with ten-month-old daughter Ivy, and her
partner Jim are equally enthusiastic.
We've got more great examples of how shared ownership is making
the home ownership dream come true for first-time buyers − and
we'll certainly be highlighting them as part of Shared Ownership
Week early next year. It's a real opportunity for us and everyone
else in housing to dispel some of the most common myths as well as
to highlight the benefits.
We welcome this annual publicity campaign led by the National
Housing Federation and support the view that we all need to play
our part in showing how shared ownership can make a difference to
people's lives now and in the future.
Follow us on Twitter @BromfordHomes and @BevHallWM
19 December 2012