Shared ownership 'a useful stopgap'

Shared ownership schemes are helping plug the gap left by the lack of affordable housing, but a true solution to first-time buyer problems would be to reform the planning system, the National Housing Federation (NHF) has said.

Initiatives which allow a buyer to purchase a stake in their property and gradually build up the amount that they own are proving highly popular, albeit with the downside that such schemes are now increasingly unable to meet demand.

A restoration of the traditional balance of supply and demand in the wider market would be the best way to resolve current affordability issues, the NHF added.

"Increasingly first-time buyers are turning to shared ownership deals by housing associations," commented an NHF spokesperson.

"The problem is, that these schemes are in very short supply and they are very over subscribed and there are very long waiting lists for them. We need to see supply for affordable homes go up, we need to see investment.

"The long-term solution is to build more homes, to invest in more affordable housing and streamline the planning system so it's easy to deliver these plans," the spokesperson concluded.

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