First-time buyers still don’t know enough about homeownership schemes

“It’s clear that the housing crisis will be front and centre in this election, and we forward to seeing positive policies from all parties aimed at increasing housebuilding, supporting people onto the property ladder,” said David Thomas, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments PLC.

However, the home construction company is concerned that despite this focus, too many first-time buyers (FTBs) are unaware of affordable homeownership schemes due to limited awareness and promotion by the Government. Notably, within an hour of Rishi Sunak’s general election announcement, Google searches for ‘first-time buyer schemes’ and ‘first-time buyer ISA’ have increased by 5,000% and 70%.

What opportunities might be missed due to limited awareness of these schemes?

88% of FTBs expressed unfamiliarity with the mortgage guarantee scheme with only 2,900 monthly searches in the last twelve months, followed by guarantor mortgages (87%), the first home scheme (63%), shared ownership (58%), and lifetime ISA (51%).

“Affordable homeownership schemes are great for helping FTBs get onto the property ladder, and having a variety of schemes available means that they can choose the best fit for them, depending on their circumstances,” said Steve Mariner, Sales & Marketing Director at Barratt Homes.

He said: “We’ve just launched a new shared ownership scheme with Legal & General (L&G) Affordable Homes called ‘Kickstart’ so prospective buyers have even more options to explore. With schemes like these, your deposit is lower, your mortgage is smaller, and you can buy a larger share in your future.”  

“However, FTBs need to understand the ins and outs of each scheme first before deciding which would work best for them,” Steve concluded.