Shared ownership on the increase

More and more prospective buyers are opting to split the cost of buying a home by moving in with a friend, one developer has claimed.

More innovative ways of getting onto the property ladder are becoming increasingly common, Redrow Homes has suggested, as recent market statistics suggest.

Citing a Halifax Key Worker Housing Review which shows that the average house price is now out of reach for the average employee in all five key worker professions, Redrow has said that new solutions are now being employed.

"We are seeing more and more examples of friends and siblings joining forces to enable them to buy their first home. Just as young people have been used to renting shared properties for a long time, now it seems they're willing to buy together too," commented Redrow marketing director Simon Bennett.

"It makes sense on a lot of fronts – each party has less of a deposit to find, the responsibility of the mortgage and household bills is shared each month, and each owner is investing in their future and hopefully building up some equity, rather than paying out rent," Mr Bennett added.

First time buyers currently pay an average of 3.37 times their income to buy a home in May, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has reported.


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