Prescott has announced a scheme that will allow tenants of Local Authorities and Housing Associations to buy a stake in their home by extending the opportunity for home ownership for up to 300,000 families.
The five-year plan for housing, Homes For All, has also set out plans to build 10,000 extra social homes a year by 2008 which is a 50 per cent increase on current rates. Up to 80,000 first-time buyers will be helped into home ownership by 2010, including a first-time buyer’s initiative using publicly-owned land for new homes.
It also confirmed plans for 1.1 million new homes by 2016 in four growth areas in the South East of England. For aid in rural areas a new planning guidance (PPG3) enables local authorities to allocate sites for affordable housing in rural communities and is permanently dedicated to meeting the needs of key workers and local people.
David Bexton, chief executive of SmartNew Homes.com, said: “Its aims are very worthy but what the industry needs is a very strong lead to inspire planning authorities to process applications faster and more constructively. We support the call for stamp duty threshold to be significantly raised in the next budget.”
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) director of policy, Michael Chambers said: “RICS is pleased that the government has moved away from granting a simple right-to-buy to housing association tenants. Although the government is now putting more money into social housing, the additional amounts are small in comparison to the size of the problem.”
Stuart Bernau, executive director at Nationwide Building Society, said: “This is a useful first step, it is in everybody’s interest that first-time buyers are able to get a foot on the housing ladder. To keep the market healthy and buoyant we need a diverse range of buyers and sellers. We believe the government and industry can work together to give this sector a real boost.”
Prescott said: “Tackling the nation’s chronic housing needs and giving people more choice is not just about them gaining a roof over their head – it’s about giving people a stronger financial future and ensuring greater social justice. We are offering the most comprehensive, fair and flexible policies ever to deliver sustainable homeownership. It means more first-time buyers, more people in social housing and more key workers like nurses and teachers will be able to get on to the housing ladder.”
The plan comes shortly after a survey suggested first-time buyers couldn’t afford to buy a home in 92 per cent of UK towns. Halifax’s Annual First-Time Buyer Review reported that, of the 597 main UK postal towns, 548 (92 per cent) were unaffordable for the typical first-time buyer in 2004.
Another report by YouGov said that young Britons are being priced out of the property and are looking abroad to take their first steps onto the property ladder. The poll of more than 4,600 adults commissioned by Oceanico Developments found that nearly half of the 18 to 29 year-olds questioned planned to buy abroad, with two-thirds of those stating that their foreign investment would be their first property purchase.Prescott has announced a scheme that will allow tenants of Local Authorities and Housing Associations to buy a stake in their home by extending the opportunity for home ownership for up to 300,000 families.
The five-year plan for housing, Homes For All, has also set out plans to build 10,000 extra social homes a year by 2008 which is a 50 per cent increase on current rates. Up to 80,000 first-time buyers will be helped into home ownership by 2010, including a first-time buyer’s initiative using publicly-owned land for new homes.
It also confirmed plans for 1.1 million new homes by 2016 in four growth areas in the South East of England. For aid in rural areas a new planning guidance (PPG3) enables local authorities to allocate sites for affordable housing in rural communities and is permanently dedicated to meeting the needs of key workers and local people.
David Bexton, chief executive of SmartNew Homes.com, said: “Its aims are very worthy but what the industry needs is a very strong lead to inspire planning authorities to process applications faster and more constructively. We support the call for stamp duty threshold to be significantly raised in the next budget.”
The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) director of policy, Michael Chambers said: “RICS is pleased that the government has moved away from granting a simple right-to-buy to housing association tenants. Although the government is now putting more money into social housing, the additional amounts are small in comparison to the size of the problem.”
Stuart Bernau, executive director at Nationwide Building Society, said: “This is a useful first step, it is in everybody’s interest that first-time buyers are able to get a foot on the housing ladder. To keep the market healthy and buoyant we need a diverse range of buyers and sellers. We believe the government and industry can work together to give this sector a real boost.”
Prescott said: “Tackling the nation’s chronic housing needs and giving people more choice is not just about them gaining a roof over their head – it’s about giving people a stronger financial future and ensuring greater social justice. We are offering the most comprehensive, fair and flexible policies ever to deliver sustainable homeownership. It means more first-time buyers, more people in social housing and more key workers like nurses and teachers will be able to get on to the housing ladder.”
The plan comes shortly after a survey suggested first-time buyers couldn’t afford to buy a home in 92 per cent of UK towns. Halifax’s Annual First-Time Buyer Review reported that, of the 597 main UK postal towns, 548 (92 per cent) were unaffordable for the typical first-time buyer in 2004.
Another report by YouGov said that young Britons are being priced out of the property and are looking abroad to take their first steps onto the property ladder. The poll of more than 4,600 adults commissioned by Oceanico Developments found that nearly half of the 18 to 29 year-olds questioned planned to buy abroad, with two-thirds of those stating that their foreign investment would be their first property purchase.
