Tag Archives: real estate
BSA calls for more financial help for young UK home buyers
The UK’s annual Budget will be unveiled next week but ahead of the announcement the Building Societies Association has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking for urgent help for buyers. The BSA says that younger buyers in particular need concerted help to buy their first home and has suggested a way in which money could be raised to give it to them. The money raised by the government from the sale of the NS&I 65+ Pensioner Bonds, estimated to reach £15 billion by the current closure date of 15 May, could be used to offset an initial investment in affordable housing projects, the letters says. Specifically, the BSA letter says that this money could make a lasting difference if it was used as seed funding for perpetually affordable housing developments using a model such as a Community Land Trust. ‘Using the money raised from the Pensioner Bonds to make affordable housing available to young people seems a neat way for a scheme that benefits those 65 and over, to also help younger people who face such a chronic shortage of affordable housing,’ said Robin Fieth, BSA chief executive. The letter also calls for the government to boost the range of providers within the house building sector, including specific support for small to medium size builders, custom and self build builders and co-operative and shared housing models. ‘The UK’s volume house builders alone cannot alleviate the acute shortage of housing in the country,’ it adds. Next week, two days before the Budget, the BSA will launch its housing manifesto for the forthcoming general election which will include a call for the creation of a new housing ministry with a Secretary of State with a seat in the Cabinet. It says this would be better than the current situation when housing is spread among a variety of government departments. The BSA is also backing the idea of a cross political party 15 year plan for the UK’s housing market based on national and regional long term demographic changes, employment, environmental concerns and infrastructure. Continue reading
Flagship Help to Buy taken up by almost 90,000 UK buyers
Help to Buy, the UK government’s flagship housing scheme, has helped almost 90,000 people to buy a new home since it was created in 2013, the latest official figures show. Overall, since the launch of the Help to Buy equity loan and mortgage guarantee schemes, some 80% of scheme completions have been made by first time buyers and the average house price was £185,000, significantly below the national average. Some 88,420 people have bought a new home and 94% of Help to Buy completions took place outside of London while over half of Help to Buy completions have been for new build homes. Together with the government’s Help to Buy: New Buy scheme, which offers 95% mortgages for those buying new build properties, the scheme is ensuring the long term health of the housing market by increasing housing supply, stimulating home building. Over half of the homes bought through Help to Buy are new build properties, helping to contribute to the 37% rise in private house building since the launch of Help to Buy. With almost all completions outside London, the highest number of homes have been through the mortgage guarantee scheme in the North West region. The equity loan, the scheme for new build properties, is particularly high 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 1.3 % of all mortgage lending compared to an average of 3% across the country. ‘Thanks to Help to Buy, this government has helped thousands of hard working people that otherwise would have been locked out of home ownership get the keys to their own home and enjoy the security that comes with it,’ said Prime Minister David Cameron. According to Home Builders Federation executive chairman, Stewart Baseley, Help to Buy has helped tens of thousands of people onto the housing ladder who otherwise would have struggled to meet their ambition of home ownership. ‘First time buyers in particular are taking advantage and the scheme is helping people in every part of the country. The resultant rise in demand is allowing builders to increase much needed house building levels. This is turn is creating tens of thousands of jobs and boosting local economies the length and breadth of the country,’ he added. Communities Secretary Eric Pickles believes that Help to Buy and the recently announced new Starter Homes initiative offering a 20% discount on newly built homes for first time buyers, will continue to offer a strong alternative to the Bank of Mum and Dad. Continue reading
Help to Buy mortgage scheme helps over 40,000 onto the UK housing ladder
Since the launch of the UK government’s flagship Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme over 40,000 loans have been completed with the overwhelming majority going to first time buyers. One of the main aims of the scheme was to get people onto the housing ladder and the official figures show that 40,079 have taken a loan and of these 78% were purchases by first time buyers. The data also shows that the total value of mort gages supported by the scheme is £5.9 billion and the mean value of a property purchased or remortgaged through the scheme was £156,031, compared to a national average house price of £272,000. Compared to total mortgage completions in each region, the scheme is supporting a higher proportion of mortgages in the North West and the East, and a lower proportion in London and the South East. Under the scheme, which was launched in October 2013, the government offers lenders the option to purchase a guarantee on mortgage loans where the borrower has a deposit of between 5% and 20%. The scheme can be used for mortgages on both new build and existing homes, by first time buyers, home movers and those remortgaging. In order to qualify for a loan supported by the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, there are a number of eligibility criteria which are set out in the scheme rules. For example, the scheme is not available on buy to let mortgages or second homes, and the property value must be £600,000 or less. Meanwhile, new research shows that the number of first time buyers relying on the ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’ for support has dropped significantly. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks’ annual first time buyers survey shows that 46% of the nation’s first time buyers needed help in saving for their deposit in 2014 compared with 63% in 2013 and 78% in 2012. ‘It has been very encouraging to see the recovery of the property market with lending to first time buyers at the highest level for seven years. It is also positive that the number of first time buyers relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad to get on the property ladder has decreased significantly,’ said Steve Fletcher, head of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks Retail Network. ‘This reflects the increased availability of first time buyer mortgages with a low deposit as well as growing economic confidence particularly among house buyers,’ he added. However, the research also shows some stark regional first time buyer differences with 27% in Yorkshire receiving support from their parents compared to 57% in the South West. Continue reading
