New Housing Secretary makes his first move

As his first major move in the job, Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick has revealed plans that would help more first-time buyers get onto the property ladder. The plans involve overhauling the shared ownership scheme, allowing people to increase their home share in smaller increments. 
Shared ownership increments
Under the current model, homeowners who have bought through a shared ownership scheme are only able to buy back the government-owned part of their property in 10% increments. Jenrick has said that he would like to change this so that homeowners would be able to increase their stake by just 1% at a time. The Guild of Property Professionals, CEO, Iain McKenzie, says: “A 10% jump for many is just too much, especially in expensive areas, whereas 1% increments will be far more financially manageable and will help shared-ownership buyers work towards owning their property outright. Considering that shared ownership buyers have to pay rent on the government-owned portion of their property, it is important for them to have a plan in place to increase their share of ownership over time. Smaller increments will make this more accessible.”
35-year mortgages on Help to Buy 
Jenrick also announced that he would make the Help to Buy incentive more affordable by enabling buyers to take out 35-year mortgages. A loophole had prevented buyers from taking a mortgage of more than 25 years, however, in the announcement the Government has said this has been rectified. 
The changes are to ensure that younger generations will be able to own property. “We will be looking at ensuring young people from Cornwall to Cumbria aren’t priced out of their home areas and how we can build public support for more housebuilding and better planning,” says Jenrick. “This Government will help a new generation to own their home.”
McKenzie adds: “Any changes that would help people get onto the property ladder are welcomed. The upcoming generations have struggled to get their foot in the door, and any changes that could assist them would be good for the market and buyers who have been forced to sit on the side-lines because they simply could not afford to be a part of it.” 
More house building
In addition to the shared ownership changes and mortgage terms, the minister also said that he would look into reforming the planning system with the goal of increasing housing delivery. “My mission is to increase the number of homes that are being delivered and to get more young people and families on to the housing ladder, particularly those on lower incomes,” said Jenrick. “Building the houses this country needs is a central priority of this Government.”
“The country has faced a housing shortage for some time, so further effort from the Government to address this is needed and overdue,” says McKenzie. “Hopefully Jenricks changes will open doors to many more first-time buyers and drive activity in that sector of the market,” he concludes. 
Looking to buy or sell a property, find your local Guild Member.

Financial Services

Contact a specialist from Aston & Co Financial Services for help with finding the right mortgage.

Read What Our
Customers Say

Jodie Skinner

From the beginning, our experience with Michael and Rhys has been brilliant. Whenever we had a question to ask or needed some additional information, they were both just a phone call away and were always happy to provide us with an answer. As first time buyers, they made us feel ...

Sue Smith

We can’t fault Aston and co in Syston, for their handling of the sale of our property. We were kept up to date weekly and nothing was too much trouble. Both Micheal and Rhys were approachable and very professional. I would definitely recommend using them for an efficient and hassle ...

Andy

Having had issues with other agents, we came to Astons who gave us an honest appraisal of our house – not overpricing it like others to gain business. Michael and Rhys are a great partnership and Rhys being local was able to provide viewers with information that other agents hadn’t. ...

Andy Freer

Recently sold our house with Aston & Co. We honestly could not have asked for more. From the moment Michael came to value the house, to the day to day communication from Rhys we have not had to chase them once. Michael and Rhys are a great partnership and a ...

V Pears

We chose Aston & Co in Syston to handle the sale of our property. We were kept up to date regularly and Michael and Rhys dealt with all matters efficiently and quickly.We would definitely recommend using them for an efficient and hassle-free move.

Gareth Mueller

We bought a house from a vendor who used Astons & Co as their agent. Rhys was helpful and professional from start to finish and regularly kept us in the loop with how things were progressing. Communication was efficient and swift all the way through.

Julie Pearson

From the first visit to value our property to the final phone call informing us of completion Rhys and Michael at the Syston office have been brilliant, down to earth, realistic with valuation very easy to get in touch with.Making everything less stressful.Regular updates were very reassuring . I would ...

Charlotte Hings

The team at Astons are great. They’re really down to earth, take time to listen and help resolve anything they can for you.Their communication is excellent as they always keep you in the loop with what is happening with your sale. They keep both seller and purchaser happy.Fees are reasonable ...

Julie Perkins

We have recently used Aston & Co to sell our property. At all times we received regular reports from them on interest and following viewings . When our property sold Astons managed the chain keeping all parties fully informed and I believe that without their input our sale would have ...

Tina Poole

Michael and Rhys handled both our sale and purchases. They had good local knowledge, their valuation turned out to be on point. Our sale viewings were nearly all on the same day and we accepted an offer very quickly. We were kept up to date regularly with that and our ...

How Much is Your Property Worth?

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation.

PROPERTY SEARCH