Record numbers of people are starting to own part of their own home, according to figures from one of the country’s leading housing association developers.
Orbit Homes, the sales and development arm of 39,000-home Orbit Group, has recorded its highest numbers of sales of shared ownership (part rent part buy) homes, since it was launched.
In October Orbit Homes saw 59 shared ownership completions, resulting in £6.6m first tranche sales. In the first six months of 2015-16 Orbit has sold 168 shared ownership homes, compared to 178 in the whole of 2014-15. The profit from these sales will be reinvested in building more much-needed homes.
The figures come at a time when house prices rise at a much faster pace than incomes, pushing the average age of the first time buyer to 37 last year.
Demand for shared ownership homes has continued to grow and in some areas outstrips supply by a factor of up to 10 to one.
Paul High, executive director for Orbit Homes, said: “Shared ownership homes play an important role in helping those who aspire to own their own home, but otherwise may not be able to afford it.
“Orbit is committed to building more of the homes this country so desperately needs, whilst providing a range of home ownership and rental products to meet the need and aspiration of customers.”
With shared ownership sites both completed and in the pipeline across the Midlands, East and South, Orbit is on track to achieve its ambition of building 12,000 homes between 2013 and 2020; having already built over 3,400 homes in the last two years.
Earlier this year Orbit published a national report with the Chartered Institute of Housing calling on the housing sector, government and funders to unite to double the supply of shared ownership homes to 30,000 and help address the UK’s growing affordability crisis.
The Shared Ownership 2.0 report sets out the potential to expand shared ownership so it becomes a fourth mainstream tenure, alongside home ownership and social and private renting.