Houses taken from above. Image by Tim Sandle
When beleaguered UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a snap general election for July 4th, this took many commentators by surprise. The calling of the poll has also brought a number of important societal issues to the fore. One such issue is housing.
First-time home renters and buyers will be keen to see how the different policy platforms put forward by the parties will affect them. Notably, Google searches for ‘first-time buyer schemes’ were up by 5,000 percent within an hour of the announcement.
The frontrunner Labour Party has promised to build 1.5 million new homes over the course of the next parliament, setting itself an ambitious target on building new homes.
Speaking about those keen to enter the property market, David Thomas, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments PLC, tells Digital Journal: “It is clear that the housing crisis will be front and centre in this election campaign and we look forward to seeing positive policies from all parties aimed at increasing housebuilding, supporting people onto the property ladder and helping the industry to build strong sustainable communities.”
Amidst uncertain times, particularly for newcomers to the property market, research conducted by Thomas indicates that one in five (20 percent) first-time buyers are unaware of affordable home ownership schemes.
As cost-effective pathways to home ownership continue to be available for first-time buyers in the UK, Thomas presents the opportunities that might be overlooked due to limited awareness of different support schemes.
| Scheme | % of first-time buyers expressing unfamiliarity | Average monthly search volumes in last 12 months |
| Mortgage guarantee scheme | 88% | 2,900 |
| Guarantor mortgages | 87% | 5,400 |
| First Homes scheme | 63% | 14,800 |
| Shared ownership | 58% | 40,500 |
| Lifetime ISA | 51% | 74,000 |
Despite generating an average of 40,500 monthly online searches, Thomas explains that 58 percent of first-time buyers remain unaware of the shared ownership scheme and its potential benefits for helping them enter the property market. Shared Ownership allows first-time buyers to purchase a share in a new build or resale property, where they pay a mortgage on the share they own and subsidised rent on the remaining share to a housing association.
Returning to the Labour Party, given the most probable outcomeon July 4th, first-time buyers will find interest in the party’s manifesto, which seeks to make permanent a mortgage guarantee scheme to help people onto the property ladder.
Likewise, Thomas informs, Lifetime ISAs consistently generate the highest monthly search volume (74,000 monthly searches) among the existing affordable home ownership schemes. Nonetheless, over half of first-time buyers are not taking advantage of its benefits. This scheme works differently to a normal savings account as the government adds a 25 percent bonus to your savings, up to a maximum of £1,000, per year.
