Thinking of buying a property - SmartShare has thousands of properties to buy or rent across the UK
Affordable homes for everyone
Thinking of buying a property - SmartShare has thousands of properties to buy or rent across the UK
Are you tired of paying expensive rent month after month? When you are just starting out in your business or career, it is normal to rent a place to stay. But it would not be a smart decision to keep renting for the rest of your life. Why? Because as years go by, real estate prices will rise and by the time you retire and finally have enough money to buy a house, the price would be sky-high already.
But the sad truth is that not everyone can afford to buy a house upfront. It could be that the budget is simply not enough or perhaps you do not have a good credit rating and thus cannot get a mortgage for a home. This is true for many people nowadays; buying a home seems almost impossible for a percentage of households, especially now that the global economy is still recovering from the crisis that has hit us in the last couple of years.
Taking the first steps on the housing market has been made a realistic opportunity for many people from all walks of life, by the introduction of shared ownership. You may have heard of this affordable housing scheme as 'part buy, part rent' because that's the main principles of how the scheme works.
You buy a share in your home and then pay a reduced rent on the remaining shares. The amount you buy and the amount you pay rent on is variable according to your own individual needs. The scheme also enables you to buy further shares and if you wish you can buy all of the shares so that you own your home outright, which of course means you won't have to continuing paying rent!
The prediction by The Centre of Economic and Business Research has taken into consideration low interest rates, cheap mortgages and short property supply. If this calculation is correct house prices could rise by almost 20% over the next three years.
Gareth Robinson, CEO of SmartShare said: "This is great news for the affordable homes market. There are many people aspiring to get onto the property ladder and these latest figures show there is a renewed confidence."
For the largest selection of affordable homes including shared ownership and part rent part buy from the top housing associations, go to www.smartshare.co.uk
Despite the recession, the Tenant Services Authority (TSA) has announced that the housing association sector’s overall assets has risen by 11% to £94.6 billion.
The operating surplus of the sector has increased by £68 million to £1.6 billion and turnover increased by £1.5 billion (the rise is partly due to changes in accounting rules which impact on low cost home ownership).
Other highlights of the 2009 accounts include:
• Net book value of housing property increased by £6 billion (12%), showing continued growth in difficult market conditions
• Social housing homes increased by 71,282 (2008 increase: 138,922) a significant reduction on the previous year
• £2.3 billion invested in existing stock, helping to deliver the Decent Homes Standards for tenants
• Long term loans increased by £5 billion (14%) to £39 billion, demonstrating that the sector is able to attract new funding
According to the Halifax building society house prices rose 1.1% in March 2010.
Other house price indices from Nationwide and Hometrack have also suggested prices rose in March, following a decline in the market in February.
Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said ‘there are signs that increasing supply is beginning to balance demand, which should help contain price rises.’
If you are looking for an affordable home then go to the largest property website dedicated to shared ownership and part buy part rent homes - www.smartshare.co.uk
At a recent National Federation Conference on shared ownership, the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) explained their ethos of working with high street lenders to assist first time buyers purchase affordable homes.
The HCA are already working with national lenders such as Lloyds, Nationwide, Barclays, HSBC and the Royal Bank of Scotland all of which are major supporters of HomeBuy Direct. They are now extending their relationships to include several regional building societies thereby creating a competitive market for low cost housing. A recent success story is East Midlands Melton Mowbray Building Society who are now supporting the HomeBuy Direct equity loan scheme with no deposit required.