First-time buyers still don’t know enough about shared homeownership schemes

I agree generally with the article below but what we do not do is look at the reasons why people don’t know about the schemes on offer. I believe they are generally too complex and are designed not to help the First Time Buyer but to help the developers and mortgage industry.

Until Governments look at home ownership from the resident’s perspective and not the vested interests, who want the status quo to continue, we will not move forward and help the 100’s of thousands who need something that the market is not providing currently.

I would argue that Joint Equity does just that – we look at the home ownership in a different way for all parties.

The following article is in Financial Reporter by

AMY LODDINGTON | ONLINE EDITOR, BARCADIA MEDIA LIMITED 24TH MAY 2024

According to the latest research commissioned by Barratt Developments PLC, one in five (20%) first-time buyers (FTBs) aren’t aware of affordable homeownership schemes but, since the general election announcement, Google searches for ‘first-time buyer schemes’ and ‘first-time buyer ISA’ have increased by 5,000% and 70% respectively.

“It’s clear that the housing crisis will be front and center in this election, and we forward to seeing positive policies from all parties aimed at increasing housebuilding, supporting people onto the property ladder,” said David Thomas, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments PLC.

However, the home construction company is concerned that despite this focus, too many first-time buyers (FTBs) are unaware of affordable homeownership schemes due to limited awareness and promotion by the Government. Notably, within an hour of Rishi Sunak’s general election announcement, Google searches for ‘first-time buyer schemes’ and ‘first-time buyer ISA’ have increased by 5,000% and 70%.

What opportunities might be missed due to limited awareness of these schemes?

88% of FTBs expressed unfamiliarity with the mortgage guarantee scheme with only 2,900 monthly searches in the last twelve months, followed by guarantor mortgages (87%), the first home scheme (63%), shared ownership (58%), and lifetime ISA (51%).

“Affordable homeownership schemes are great for helping FTBs get onto the property ladder, and having a variety of schemes available means that they can choose the best fit for them, depending on their circumstances,” said Steve Mariner, Sales & Marketing Director at Barratt Homes.

From an article in Financial Reporter by

AMY LODDINGTON | ONLINE EDITOR, BARCADIA MEDIA LIMITED 24TH MAY 2024