Affordable homes funding is key

Whichever party wins the general election next month, they must ensure that funding remains readily available for a wide range of affordable homeownership schemes aimed at helping first-time buyers gain a first step onto the property ladder, according to a leading group of affordable home developers.

A group of 20 affordable home builders have produced a ‘white paper' which offers a comprehensive analysis and assessment of the shared ownership market, now and for the future.

Demand for affordable homes - shared equity and shared ownership schemes - has continued to increase in the past year or so, as property prices across much of the UK have started to rise again, making whole homeownership unaffordable for many people.

The group of affordable home developers said that around 52,000 new homes under shared ownership schemes had been purchased between 2004 and 2009.

Almost 18,000 households have reportedly been taken off waiting lists for social housing since 2005 thanks to shared ownership and shared equity house purchases.

Marilyn DiCara, director of sales at Moat, says: "We will use the wealth of new evidence and new ideas in the paper to encourage the new government to continue with strong funding for shared ownership."