National Housing Federation research contradicts TSA figures
NHF gives shared owners new hope
Many more shared owners are proceeding to outright homeownership than previously thought, according to figures released by the National Housing Federation.
The research appears to contradict earlier analysis by the Tenant Services Authority, published in September last year, that found just 8 per cent of shared owners had increased their stake in their homes since purchasing them.
The NHF research looked at statistical returns from housing associations over the past 30 years. The study, carried out by the NHF’s homeownership advisory panel, reveals that 43,138 shared owners had staircased up to 100 per cent homeownership. Although higher than in the TSA analysis the figure represents just 25.5 per cent of the 169,636 shared ownership homes built since 1979.
The panel’s analysis also reveals that 25 per cent of shared ownership buyers purchasing between 2001-06 had either partially or fully staircased by buying extra equity in their homes. When buyers originally purchasing in 2001/02 were looked at in isolation, nearly 32 per cent had staircased to full ownership and another 5 per cent had increased their stake.
The panel said the TSA figures could only be so low if the research failed to take into account people who had already staircased to full ownership. Sixty per cent of existing shared owners responding said they were likely to staircase at some point.
Marilyn DiCara, director of sales, marketing and new business at Moat, speaking on behalf of the panel, said it had been surprised by the TSA’s research, carried out by Ipsos Mori. She said she thought that the staircasing figure was ‘fairly high’.
She added: ‘We certainly refute suggestions that people are trapped in shared ownership schemes and this backs up our belief.
A spokesperson for the TSA said that it stuck by the results it published last year. She refused to comment on the big difference in both sets of figures.
The TSA’s figures come from a survey in which it spoke to 1,147 shared owners between February and April 2009.
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Readers' comments (2)
SHo Hell | 22/03/2010 0:49 am
Well Marilyn DiCara, you obviously don't understand how shared owners feel. I feel trapped in shared ownership property, my HA (Midland Heart) insist that I can only sell my share to a particular group of people that they have to approve of, I will then be charged for a surveyors fees on top on the estate agent fees, which I don't mind, but I believe their surveyor may under estimate the value of my home against a value that the estate agents surveyor sets free of charge!!.
I get no advice from the leaseholder section of the HA after any correspondance. I now earn well over the average earnings yet only have a £20K equity in the my share, my wife earns approx £10K PA. The average house prive is over £150K, I therefore will find it difficult to get a decent enough mortgage to move to a decent area and get a house to suit our current needs.
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Barbara Val | 09/09/2010 0:38 am
Marilyn doesn't know what she is talking about. Shared owners feel trapped. I'm one of them. I'm a shared owner and feel trapped into a toxic lease which apparently - the solicitor, recommended to me by the HA, didn't even return my calls - from what I can understand, says that I cannot sublet my property even if I staircase to a 100%, for the next 21 years! It's simply ridiculous. I can't even keep a pet. It simply beggars belief.
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