Shared ownership best known ownership product

Just over a third (34%) of 2,200 adults polled for the report knew about shared ownership, compared to 32% for the Right to Buy and 28% who knew about the Help to Buy equity loan.

The report, Shared Ownership 2.1, notes that tenure is affordable across the vast majority of the UK, that it is significantly over-subscribed and that the sector has the capacity to build many more homes.

Demand for shared ownership homes has also soared, with 85,000 people applying for the 8,000 homes which became available last year. The government has earmarked £4.1bn to build 135,000 new shared ownership homes by 2021, although it has recently allowed more flexibility for other tenures to be built. The eligibility criteria has also been relaxed.

The CIH report comes as research by JLL on behalf of the National Housing Group (NHG) revealed housing associations had boosted construction of shared ownership last year, with 25,000 under construction and due to complete over the next 12 to 18 months, compared to a mere 6,000 completions a year on average for the previous 30 years.

Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive of the CIH, said: “What this report shows is that shared ownership is now a popular and affordable route for many people in the UK to get a home.

“As house prices continue to rise, shared ownership is an option for the growing group of people for whom homeownership is increasingly out of reach, but who don’t have the level of need to qualify for social housing.

“It is pleasing to see more government funding being diverted towards shared ownership as this report makes it clear we need many more homes to cater for growing demand.”

Boris Worrall, executive director of futures at Orbit, said: “This research shows that shared ownership is gaining real momentum as a popular and well known route into homeownership for thousands of people who would otherwise be priced out of the market.

“Government support and the sector’s ambition, alongside better marketing and management, indicate an even brighter future for this affordable and aspirational product.”

According to the CIH, 102,848 shared ownership homes have been built since 2001, with housing associations now managing over 54,000.