Ahead of Shared Ownership Week (September 20-26), an affordable housing provider is explaining why a scheme such as this could be the answer for those looking to buy a new home.
With the exit of Help to Buy from the housing market earlier this year and rising property costs, it’s no wonder that more people are looking for alternatives to get onto the housing ladder or make their way up it. That fact is echoed in data from this year – sales of shared ownership properties have risen a huge 36 per cent, a rise that affordable housing provider St Arthur Homes has said it has seen reflected in real-time visitor and sales figures.
But why are schemes such as shared ownership proving so attractive to buyers?
Louise Mills, Sales and Marketing Director for St Arthur Homes, said: “Shared Ownership Week provides us with the perfect opportunity to shout about all the many benefits of schemes such as this. With Help to Buy coming to an end, buyers trying to get onto the property ladder have had their options for home ownership diminished. Enter shared ownership. It’s an obvious step for buyers and, just like Help to Buy, can be a stepping stone to one day owning 100 per cent of a property.
“Secondly, people are starting to realise that when you choose a shared ownership property, that does not mean you choose a second-rate home. At St Arthur Homes, quality is at the forefront of our minds. Many of the leadership team here come from typical homebuilder backgrounds, and we bring those values with us. We really care about providing a top-quality home to buyers, and giving them all the help and support that they need to move into their perfect property – not just a placeholder.
“On top of that, buyers can choose to purchase a percentage of their new home with a mortgage and pay rent on the remaining share. That typically means a much lower deposit than buying 100 per cent of a new home, allowing buyers to often get onto the housing ladder much faster than they previously thought possible. They can also choose to ‘staircase’, which means buying a bigger percentage of their home as and when they can afford to – building up to 100 per cent ownership if they so desire.”
Buyers of shared ownership properties have shared how they don’t feel they would ever have been able to get onto the housing ladder without using a scheme.
Megan McNamara (26) and her partner James Huggitt (29) bought at St Arthur Homes’ Whiteley Meadows development in Whiteley.
Megan said: “James and I realised that buying a home using a traditional method would be out of the question for many years, as it is for so many young families. My friend mentioned shared ownership to me and, after a lot of research, I knew that this would be the ideal way for us to get onto the property ladder.
“We looked online every day until the perfect home came along. It was a three-bedroom property at St Arthur Homes’ Whiteley Meadows development in Whiteley, which just looked like it could be the one for us.
“With some savings and help from family, we managed to put together a deposit and buy a 45 per cent stake in the property, paying rent on the other percentage.”
Shared Ownership Week is being held from 20-26 September and is designed to promote all the many benefits of buying new. For more information visit sharedownershipweek.co.uk and for more information on St Arthur Homes, visit starthurhomes.com.
