Feb 1 2007
The first homes in a scheme that enables first time buyers to get a foot onto the property ladder by paying 50 per cent of the price of a new home, were unveiled today by Housing Minister Yvette Cooper.
More than 700 homes in 18 developments have been chosen as the first in the country to be offered under the First Time Buyers' Initiative. The scheme is expected to help 15,000 house-hunters nationally into low cost home-ownership by 2010.
It allows eligible first time buyers to purchase a minimum 50 per cent share in a new house, with the Government making up the remainder.
The first person to benefit from the scheme, Melanie Latham, is moving into a two bedroom home in Feltham, London, paying a £112,000 mortgage on a £220,000 property.
Yvette Cooper said:
"With rising house prices, many first time buyers are struggling to get a first foot onto the ladder. Just because families can't afford the full house price doesn't mean they shouldn't have the chance to get started and buy a share in the first home of their own. We want to help more people like Melanie with this scheme."
Around 50 per cent of the new homes under the First Time Buyers' Initiative will be for key workers such as nurses, teachers and police officers. The remaining homes will be made available to local residents who meet priority criteria identified by Regional Housing Boards. Under the scheme, first time buyers can increase the share in their home at any time. They will only be responsible for their mortgage payments for the first three years, after that period they will pay an additional charge based on the equity they don't own.
Duncan Innes, the English Partnerships' director responsible for delivering the First Time Buyers' Initiative said:
“These new affordable homes will provide a real opportunity for first time buyers in many communities across England, where they are needed most. We want to help as many people as possible to take their first steps towards full home ownership, and we want to be able to do that quickly. The First Time Buyers’ Initiative will help us to do that.”
Melanie Latham is the first person to move into a First Time Buyers' Initiative home.
“My apartment is fantastic. This scheme makes buying a home affordable for ordinary people. As a first time buyer, I never expected to be able to buy a property like this.”
The First Time Buyers’ Initiative is part of a wave of new programmes to help families to get a foot on the housing ladder. Policies introduced since 1999 have already helped more than 40,000 people buy their own homes through shared equity schemes and shared ownership. But the government is committed to going further. Ministers have recently announced plans to help more than 160,000 families into home ownership by 2010.
In addition to First Time Buyers’ Initiative, qualifying households have the option to buy a home through shared equity under Open Market Homebuy and New Build HomeBuy, or buy their social rented home through Social HomeBuy. The Government is also investing £970 million in the Housing Corporation’s Affordable Housing programme for 35,000 low cost home ownership properties.