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Four in 10 ‘don’t understand shared ownership’
Four in 10 people don’t understand the benefits of shared ownership, a study has found.
The survey, carried out by YouGov on behalf of 29,000-home landlord Aster, revealed that while 95% of people qualify for the homeownership staircasing product, only 60% are familiar with it.
More than half – 51% – were unaware that banks and building societies offer mortgages for the tenure, while 81% said Britain’s housing market is unaffordable for first-time buyers.
Shared ownership allows people to buy a stake in a home, paying rent on the remaining portion before building up to full ownership. There are currently around 200,000 shared ownership homes in the UK, according to government figures.
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Aster, which built more than 300 low-cost homeownership units in 2016/17, said housing associations should agree that shared ownership supports their social ethos and work together to boost its profile.
It also called for a government publicity campaign to raise awareness, following in the footsteps of Help to Buy.
And it said the shared ownership application process should be reformed to make it easier for buyers to staircase and transfer their mortgage to an open market property.
Bjorn Howard, chief executive of Aster, said: “Shared ownership blends ownership and renting and can be a great option for many locked out of the renting and ownership markets.
“It provides lifelong security without the huge upfront costs for a deposit that homebuyers face when they use traditional ownership routes.”
YouGov surveyed 2,111 adults between 3 and 4 May for the study.
