SO Resi, the shared ownership brand of leading housing association Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH), has joined forces with Cambridge University to release the first annual report into the status of shared ownership in England. The findings of the report, by Dr Gemma Burgess, Acting Director of the Cambridge Centre for Housing & Planning Research and a professor at the prestigious university, were released at an industry roundtable on Wednesday 3 rd February. The event, chaired by property writer and editor Stacey Meadwell, brought together a panel of experts from the property world - Kush Rawal, Director of Residential Investment at MTVH; Jon Lord, Managing Director at Metro Finance; and Ben Fry, Head of Housing Investment at Gresham House - to discuss the findings with Dr Burgess. The panel heard from Dr Burgess’ report: “Shared ownership providers, lenders and wider industry stakeholders interviewed for this research were all very positive about what shared ownership offers to customers. In many parts of the country, interviewees felt that shared ownership is the only realistic route into home ownership for households with relatively low deposits. The product offers flexibility as it opens home ownership at a range of possible price points to households with modest deposits.” The research, which surveyed 24 housing providers and interviewed industry and user groups, revealed important details about the average shared ownership transaction:
- Most shared ownership purchasers are aged between 20 and 40 (72%), with the late 20s being the most common time to purchase. Only 5% are over 65.
- The largest group of shared ownership purchasers are single adults without children (50%) followed by childless couples (35%)
- 94% are in employment
- The average value of shared ownership properties purchased in 2018/19 was £265,000, with the average initial share being 42% and a deposit of £24,600
Interest in shared ownership is booming. According to the report: “All interviewees were asked about the impact of the pandemic on the shared ownership sector. The most immediate impact had been an increase in demand for shared ownership lending and in enquiries about buying a shared ownership home. Since 2015/16, the number of shared ownership completions per year has increased from 4,084 to 17,021.”
