It seems that there’s been a real surge in interest in new builds in Hull and elsewhere in the UK, with newly released figures from the Land Registry showing a year-on-year increase of 25 per cent in new build homes for September across England and Wales.
Some 11,270 houses of the 96,355 sales received for registration over the month were newly built, while 73,463 were freehold (a 1.3 per cent rise on September last year).
The Price Paid Data report is a strong indicator of how well the market is performing and with the study showing that 450 of the residential properties registered as sold in September went for more than £1 million across England and Wales, it seems that even in the face of tough market conditions there is still a lot to be positive about.
And now that the Autumn Budget has been announced, first-time buyers (FBTs) may well have big smiles on their faces, as even more help has been provided to get them onto the property ladder.
For example, the majority of FTBs of shared ownership homes will not have to pay stamp duty on the house in question any more – and the Help to Buy scheme has been extended by two years, coming to an end in 2023, the BBC reports.
Last year, stamp duty was abolished for FTBs buying a property valued up to £300,000 and chancellor Philip Hammond has since said that the move has helped 121,500 people, with the number of FTBs now at an 11-year high.
Shared ownership of a new-build home (where somebody purchases between 25 and 75 per cent of a house and then rents the rest of it) could well be the right way for you to take your first step onto the property ladder.
You can purchase a share in a new build or resale property, paying a mortgage on the share that you own and paying rent to a housing association on the rest. This means that the amount of money you’ll need for a deposit is a lot lower than it would be if you were purchasing a property outright.
And don’t forget that you have the option to increase your share of ownership of the house during your time in the property by ‘staircasing’ – which involves you buying further shares in the property. You can also do this with a resale property, depending on the terms of your lease.
The greater your share in the house, the less rent you pay to the housing association and if you staircase to 100 per cent, you’ll be the owner outright and will not have to pay any more rent.
There are some rules for eligibility, however, such as being at least 18 years old, having an income of less than £80,000 if living outside London and typically being an FTB.