Tag Archives: housing
Help to Buy helps over 130,000 home buyers in UK
The UK government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme has helped over 130,000 people achieve their aspiration of buying their own home since it was launched, the latest official figures reveal. Some 80% of scheme completions have been made by first time buyers, with more expected following the launch of the government’s Help to Buy ISA scheme at the beginning of this month. Help to Buy was created in 2013 to ensure that working people who saving for a deposit could achieve their aspiration of buying their own home through government support. Home ownership is a key part of the government’s long term plan to provide economic security for working people across the UK. The scheme continues to benefit first time buyers overwhelmingly, with the vast majority of sales outside of London and at prices well below the national average. According to officials Help to Buy is also ensuring the long term health of the housing market by increasing housing supply and stimulating home building. Almost half of the homes bought through Help to Buy are new build properties, helping to contribute to the 38% rise in private house building since the launch of Help to Buy. First time buyers will have a further boost from the Help to Buy: ISA, which banks and building societies across the UK are offering as of last week. Under this scheme, first time buyers can save up to £200 a month towards their first home and the government will boost their savings by 25%, or £50 for every £200, up to a £3,000 bonus. Some 14 banks and building societies have already signed up to offer Help to Buy: ISAs. These lenders are: Aldermore, Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Clydesdale Bank, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, Nationwide, NatWest, Newcastle Building Society, Santander, Ulster Bank, Virgin Money and Yorkshire Bank. With almost all completions outside London, the highest number of homes through the mortgage guarantee scheme have been in the North West region. The equity loan, a scheme for new build properties, is particularly prevalent in the South East region. Figures for the mortgage guarantee scheme also show completions have been least concentrated in regions where house price growth is highest. In London the scheme makes up just 1% of all mortgage lending compared to an average of 3% across the country. The average house price for both parts of the scheme, at £185,972 at £155,573 for the mortgage guarantee and £217,999 for the equity loan scheme, remains significantly below the national average house price of £286,000. ‘This government is committed to helping people achieve the aspiration of buying their own home, and our Help to Buy schemes have now helped 130,000 across the UK do just that,’ said Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne. He also pointed out that the stronger economy and financial system means that the government now expect banks to start to exit the Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee scheme, which was introduced in times of financial distress… Continue reading
A quarter of UK home owners call in builders to fix their DIY
UK property owners are spending an additional £42 million a year to salvage work around the home that they’ve tried to do themselves or abandoned midway through. New research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) shows that more than a quarter of home owners admit they have started and then abandoned home improvement jobs, with 30% calling in a tradesperson to finish or rescue the job, costing an additional £871 on average than it would have cost if they’d hired professionals at the start. Some 27% claim they have ‘given up’ on a job ever being completed with 19 months identified as the average length of time before a job is abandoned while 40% admit unfinished projects have caused arguments at home. Beyond this, almost 60% don’t even bother starting the work in the first place, continually putting off work that they’ve planned, such as kitchen and bathroom upgrades, painting and replacing windows. One in five say their attempts at home improvement projects have been ‘disastrous’, with 62% of these admitting that DIY building blunders have reduced the value of their property and a further 18% believing their properties are now harder to sell. The biggest disasters came from painting the property themselves, self-installing a kitchen or a bathroom or trying to landscape their garden. When looking at the main reasons home owners have dragged their heels, 55% say they are worried about the cost, while 30% claim they haven’t had time to organise the work. An indecisive 20% can’t decide or agree on what they want, while 17% haven’t been able to find someone to do the work. ‘While it’s noble that people want to have a go at home improvement projects themselves, our research confirms that if you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re risking not just increased costs, but also your property value not to mention your health and safety when it comes to serious builds and renovations,’ said Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB. ‘Unfinished work and botched DIY attempts are increasingly cited as reasons people turn to FMB members, so we urge home owners to be realistic about what they are capable of doing,’ he added. Continue reading
Report suggests shared ownership is misunderstood and under used
Shared ownership could help thousands more home buyers in the UK to get onto the housing ladder but research has found that this growing lending sector is under used and misunderstood. With house prices rising at a faster rate than most salaries and people continuing to struggle to get onto the property ladder, shared ownership is a potential solution for many, yet is often overlooked despite having been introduced 30 years ago. The research from the Leeds Building Society has identified a number of key myths around shared ownership including the belief that a shared ownership mortgage is more difficult to place than an ordinary mortgage. It also found that people think that shared ownership properties are in less desirable areas, that it’s more expensive than renting, that it’s difficult to qualify unless you’re on a very low wage, or a key worker and that it is like a consolation prize and not real ownership. ‘In a nutshell, the lack of understanding around shared ownership boils down to these five distinct points,’ said Louisa Sedgwick, head of intermediary distribution for Leeds Building Society. ‘In reality, these beliefs are inaccurate and there is an abundance of information for intermediaries, and the borrowers they serve, available from housing associations, the Government and lenders to help them understand how shared ownership could work for them,’ she added. She pointed out that while many housing developers or associations are linked to specific intermediaries in certain areas, there’s nothing to stop individuals approaching their own broker about shared ownership. ‘At this stage, many clients will have been assessed, certainly in terms of eligibility for shared ownership, by the relevant Housing Association before going to consult an intermediary, meaning the process for the broker can actually be fairly straightforward since they only need to place the mortgage,’ explained Sedgwick. ‘A mistaken public perception exists that shared ownership homes may be badly maintained, poor quality properties in poor, or less desirable, areas. Again, this is far from the truth. London provides an interesting example and showcases the fact many shared ownership properties offer a desirable home and community environment to live in,’ she pointed out. ‘Properties available through the scheme can be found in prestigious and sought after areas such as Notting Hill. What’s more, the availability of shared ownership properties extends far beyond London to desirable areas across the UK including Harrogate, Chester and York. ‘Shared ownership schemes are found across the UK as housebuilders are often obliged to include a proportion of affordable housing, some of which will be for shared ownership, regardless of where they are developing,’ she added. In terms of cost she explained that while many believe the monthly payments required to live in a shared ownership property hover somewhere between those paid for a full mortgage and rent, in reality, monthly payments for shared ownership properties could be lower than either full ownership or private renting. Indeed, a report published by the National Housing Federation in 2013… Continue reading
