Latest news with #FirstHomes
Scottish Sun
17-07-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
New interactive map reveals where first-time buyers can find the most affordable homes – how does your area do?
Use the map to find out where you can buy KEY TO IT New interactive map reveals where first-time buyers can find the most affordable homes – how does your area do? Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) GETTING a foot on the property ladder is no easy feat for aspiring owners as house prices hit all time highs. Finding a pad is even trickier for home hunters with a small budget but there are pockets of affordability if you know where to look. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Getting on the property ladder is tricky thanks to high house prices And a new map shows exactly where first-time buyers can scoop property based on their budget. In the map created by property site reallymoving users can search according to their budget and the number of bedrooms to find suitable locations. It comes as the average UK house price jumped by 3.9%, to £269,000, in the 12 months to May, according to provisional Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures But even in the most expensive parts of Britain such as London and the South East you could find pockets of affordability. Buyers can use the map to uncover postcodes they may not previously have considered, where their money will go further. The colour-coded heat map highlights in green the most promising areas to search where 90% or more of the homes are affordable. You can access the tool here. Neighbourhoods where between 10–30% of properties are affordable are marked in orange, and those with fewer than 10% of homes within budget are marked in red. Reallymoving chief executive Rob Houghton said: 'If first-time buyers focus only on average house prices, the dream of owning a home may seem impossible but those numbers don't tell the full story. "Rather than relying on general statistics, buyers can now get a clear, localised view of where they stand the best chance of finding a home they can afford." Best schemes for first-time buyers To create the map, reallymoving analysed the most and least affordable locations within 20 miles, based on the average budget of a local first-time buyer. The property site found that a London buyer with a budget of £400,000 would find the most affordable area as Purfleet, while South Kensington was the least affordable. In Cardiff a buyer with a budget of £192,500 would find Ferndale the most affordable and Penarth the least. And in Edinburgh, buyers with a typical budget of £182,995 would find Bathgate most affordable and central Edinburgh EH1 least. The map comes as chancellor Rachel Reeves announces extra help to get first-time buyers on to the ladder including a new permanent mortgage guarantee scheme. At the same time, borrowers can now get a bigger mortgage under new rules that came in earlier this month. Support for first-time buyers There are plenty of support schemes that first-time buyers can access to make it easier to get on the ladder. First home schemes If you live in England, the First Homes scheme allows you to buy a property with up to 50% discounted from its market price. To use the scheme, you must be a first-time buyer and be aged 18 or older. And you'll need to earn less than £80,000 a year before tax or £90,000 if the property is in London. Shared ownership Instead of buying a whole property, you instead buy a portion from as little 10% and pay rent to a landlord on the rest through shared ownership schemes. Only buying a share of the home means the deposit and mortgage payments are much smaller. You can then start to increase your stake in the property when you are able to afford it until you own it outright. Availability of shared ownership homes vary depending on area and you may have to show you have a job or links in the location where you want to buy. You can use the scheme in England if your household earns £80,000 a year or less when you're buying outside of London, or £90,000 a year or less when you're buying in London Family assistance Members of your family can help you by gifting a deposit but even if they are not in the position to do this, there are other options such as joint mortgages with relatives or 100% mortgages with parental security. For example, Barclays' Family Springboard Mortgage allows buyers to get a home without saving a deposit at all when a family member or friend puts up savings worth 10 per cent of the purchase price. The money is returned to the helper after five years as long as the mortgage payments are kept up. Specialist mortgages More lenders are offering innovative mortgages to help buyers get on the ladder. For example, if you can pull together £5,000 for a deposit, you could qualify for Yorkshire Build Society's specialised mortgage for first-time buyers. Borrowers can get a mortgage on properties up to £500,00 with the deal. Or if you rent a home and have a good track record of paying the bill each month, you could qualify for a specialised deal from Skipton Building Society - and you don't need to save a deposit at all. The Track Record 100% mortgage from the lender is available to renters buying their first property. Lifetime ISA (LISA) You can give your savings a boost through a special ISA designed to help people save for either a first home. The account is tax-free and anyone aged between 18-39 can open one. When saving up to £4,000 a year and the government will then add a 25% bonus on top. If you save the maximum amount, you could get as much as £32,000 for free to go towards your new home. You'll also earn tax-free interest on your savings pot, including the added extra from the government. It's important to note the property must cost less than £450,000 and you must buy it at least 12 months after you make your first payment into the Lifetime Isa.
Scottish Sun
09-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Mortgage scheme helping first-time buyers with small deposits to end in WEEKS – five other ways to get on the ladder
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A MORTGAGE scheme that is helping first-time buyers get on the ladder is set to end within weeks. The mortgage guarantee scheme enables buyers to get a home with just a 5% deposit. 1 The mortgage guarantee scheme has helped 53,000 home buyers get on the ladder Credit: Alamy It can be used to buy any type of home as long as you don't pay more than £600,000 for it. The scheme provides a guarantee that the Government will cover some of a lender's losses if a borrower can't afford to repay their mortgage and the home is repossessed. It's been available for buyers since April 2021 but it's scheduled to end on June 30, and there is no word yet on if or when a replacement will be launched. The Government said in February it would launch a "new, permanent, comprehensive mortgage guarantee scheme" that would "open the door to home ownership for more young families and hard-working renters". Brokers say it's possible the scheme won't be replaced - but don't be too disappointed just yet. Between the scheme's launch and the end of December last year, more than 53,000 mortgages were completed using it. Data released last week shows the total value of mortgages supported by the scheme was £10.7billion. But not every lender offering 95% mortgages has used the scheme, and many are still offering small or no deposit mortgages outside of the scheme. Justin Moy, managing director at EHF Mortgages, said the scheme may not be replaced because of renewed confidence in the mortgage market. The Sun's James Flanders explains how to find the best deal on your mortgage "This was originally designed to help lenders stretch to 90-95% Loan to Value at a time when confidence within the market was low, so this looks to be a positive step without causing too many ripples with lenders," he said. Pete Mugleston, mortgage adviser and managing director at Online Mortgage Advisor, said losing the scheme would be "mixed news" for first-time buyers. "On the one hand, the mortgage guarantee scheme was a useful way of helping first-time buyers get on the property ladder if they didn't have a large deposit," he said. "But, given that a lot of lenders are now offering mortgages with a 5% deposit and lower, losing it isn't as big an issue as it could have been. "As the government has not given any further details about the scheme it promised in February, we could be waiting a while before we hear anything." The Sun contacted the Treasury for comment. What other schemes are available? Even if the mortgage guarantee scheme is replaced, there are other Government schemes available for first-time buyers. You should look into each option thoroughly before going ahead with it and consider any disadvantages to the schemes. These are some of the options available... First Homes First-time buyers can get a home for between 30 to 50% less than its market value through the First Homes scheme. You can buy a new build home from a developer or a property from someone who's used the scheme before and is now selling. The scheme is only available in England and you'll have to be 18 or older to qualify. Your total household income must be £80,000 or less, or £90,000 in London. You'll also need to be able to get a mortgage for at least half the price of the home. Shared ownership If you can't afford all of the deposit and mortgage payments for a home that meets your needs, you could consider shared ownership. This is when you buy a share of the property and pay rent to a landlord on the rest. You'll also likely need to pay a service charge to maintain common areas shared between you and your neighbours. Buyers can usually get a share of between 10 and 75% of the home's full value. You can buy more of the home later on in a process called staircasing. However, some people who have used shared ownership have struggled to buy bigger portions of their homes due to being forced to pay increasing rents and service charges. Lifetime ISA People struggling to save for a deposit can get extra help from the Government by saving into a Lifetime ISA (LISA). You can save up to £4,000 a year into it and the Government will give you a free bonus worth 25% of whatever you save. You have to be between 18 and 39 to open a LISA and you can pay in and get the bonus until you're 50. It's worth knowing that if you withdraw your money before you're 60, it must be spent on buying your first home. If you withdraw it for any other reason you'll lose your bonus and also effectively pay a 6.25% penalty - so you'll end up with less than you put in. You should also be aware that you can only use a LISA on homes worth up to £450,000. Right to Buy This scheme was brought in during the 1980s and allows most council tenants the right to buy their council house at a discount. There are different rules for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. You can make a joint application with up to three family members who have lived with you for the past 12 months. If you rent from a Housing Association you may also have the right to buy it at a discount under the Government's Right to Acquire Scheme. Deposit Unlock This lets you buy a new build home from any developer registered with the scheme as long as you have a 5% deposit. The scheme is available to both first-time buyers and home movers. It's available on new-build homes up to the price of £833,250. Deposit Unlock is currently available with participating lenders including Nationwide, Accord Mortgages and Newcastle Building Society. What do lenders offer? As well as Government schemes, some mortgage lenders have also been offering incentives for first-time buyers. For example, Skipton Building Society offers a 100% mortgage deal that allows you to buy a home without a deposit. A similar mortgage deal was recently launched by April Mortgages too. Accord offers a £5,000 deposit mortgage while other lenders have been slashing their affordability rules.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Olmsted County HRA approves $1.72M loan for affordable housing project
Mar. 14—ROCHESTER — Olmsted County's Housing and Redevelopment Authority board approved an up to $1.72 million loan to support the creation of eight new for-sale homes priced under $350,000 in southeast Rochester. Bigelow Homes proposed the project, dubbed Woodcrest, on the heels of a county-driven project on Red Hawk Drive Southeast , which created 10 homes with $251,900 price tags. "The more we can prove that this product will sell and more developers do it, we are going to help the whole housing continuum," Bigelow Homes President Mike Paradise told the HRA board Thursday of building on efforts to produce homes for sale at less than $400,000. With $2.4 million spent on construction of the Red Hawk Drive homes returning to the county as soon as the sales close, Olmsted County's Housing Program Manager Mark Engel said the funds will be added to $1.3 million remaining in an HRA program designed to help spur housing development. Those are the funds that will be provided as a zero-interest loan for the new Bigelow project near the intersection of 15th Street Southeast and 24th Avenue. The goal is to continue testing the housing market and determine whether such loans could be a long-term model to help produce needed housing as the HRA maintains its efforts to support various avenues toward more affordable housing. The proposal calls for development of an agreement that will require Bigelow Homes to build a mix of homes priced between $336,000 and $348,000. Two of the homes will be similar to split-level homes built on Red Hawk Drive and the other six will be ramblers with unfinished basements. A big difference is all the homes will be sold with ownership of the land, rather than putting it in the First Homes Community Land Trust to reduce the sales price. County Commissioner Laurel Podulke-Smith questioned the ability to keep the homes affordable through future sales, which is considered an advantage when working with First Homes since all sales are income restricted. Jennifer Woodford, president of Rochester Area Foundation, which includes the First Homes program, said she supports the effort, because it will meet a local housing need for residents above the First Home income requirement but earning less than what's needed to purchase a $500,000 home, which is what is most commonly built locally. Paradise said his company has agreed to limit initial sales to people earning 120% of the area median income or less, which is similar to a program led by the city of Rochester. He said the price range fills an affordability gap between renting and purchasing a $500,000 home while also opening opportunities to create movement in the housing market that could benefit others. "The stronger the inventory we have in housing will actually lower prices," he said. County Commissioner Bob Hopkins cast the sole vote against approving the loan, stating the housing is needed and the project appears valid, but he questions whether the decision should be made without seeking other proposals. "I'm just not comfortable at this point," he said, noting he's the newest member of the HRA board composed of county commissioners and a resident representative. Senior Assistant Olmsted County Attorney Tom Canan also raised concerns about the lack of a competitive loan process, but HRA Board Chairman Mark Thein pointed out that any developer could have brought a similar presentation to the county, and the nature of the loan means funds will be available for future projects if other builders come forward. Since the funds aren't being depleted, Paradise, who is a member of the Coalition for Rochester Area Housing Board of Directors, said the Woodcrest project can serve as a test for broader use. "I think it's important that we realize this might be a tool that other for-profit builders can use to build the housing we need," he said. Engel said the Woodcrest loan will be designed to cover construction costs as work is being done, since Bigelow Homes already owns the property, which is prepared for development. It means Bigelow Homes won't see a financial benefit from the project until the homes are sold. The financing agreement, however, will allow the company to build all the homes in succession, rather than waiting for financing between builds. It's an efficiency Engel said cut approximately $17,000 from the cost of the Red Hawk Homes. The HRA plan calls for developing the required loan documents in time for construction to start in April or May. The homes would be listed for sale as early as May, which is expected to provide time for additional efficiencies in the process. The first Woodcrest home is expected to be completed in August, with the remaining available as they are completed through November.
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Olmsted County's $3.7 million project shows what housing affordability looks like
Mar. 11—ROCHESTER — The construction of 10 homes on Red Hawk Drive Southeast might seem small against an estimated need for more than 3,500 new for-sale homes in Olmsted County by 2030. Jennifer Woodford, president of Rochester Area Foundation, which includes the First Homes program, said it's about perspective. "It's been so nice to be able to have those homes to offer to people who've been really waiting for years to potentially fulfill their dreams of homeownership," she said of the project led by Olmsted County. A little over a year after Olmsted County's Housing and Redevelopment Authority agreed to purchase 10 lots for $680,000, eight of the resulting homes are sold, and Woodford said the remaining two are expected to be off the market soon. The project was initiated to test the market for homes built for approximately $250,000 in a market where prices are typically higher. First Homes was enlisted to put them in its community land trust to reduce sale prices, and Bigelow Homes was contracted to build the houses . "This is something that is truly innovative," Olmsted County Housing Director Dave Dunn said of the combined effort casting the county as developer and financier of the project with funds initially earmarked for homebuyer assistance payments. The resulting 10 two-bedroom, two-bathroom homes — five split levels and five with a single floor — feature two-car garages and all appliances typically needed by a first-time home buyer. While the single-floor homes have fully finished interiors, the split-level homes have largely unfinished lower floors. A potential family room, two bedrooms and a third bathroom are roughly outlined in the split levels, but the lower-floor walls would need to be completed, along with electrical work, flooring and other fixtures. "I see folks starting to finish this off, even if it's not completed," Olmsted County's Housing Program Manager Mark Engel said of the incomplete spaces. Mike Paradise, president of Bigelow Homes, estimated the potential cost of completing the lower-level work at $35,000, depending on homeowner choices. Engel said the unfinished portions of the five homes were designed to provide flexibility while keeping the purchase prices within county goals. The initial proposed home design was akin to homes built in Rochester's Country Club Manor, but Engel said tweaks sought to ensure the homes remained timeless and could blend into any neighborhood. It doesn't mean the homes are of a cookie-cutter variety. Measures were taken to vary colors inside and out, with floor and cabinet finishes and other features varied throughout the project. "The builder offered items that were available in this classification, and they spread them across the homes, so that even though you might be another home of this model, it may not have these light fixtures," Engel said. Paradise said the homes are comparable to some his crews have built in the open market. When it comes to pricing, however, he said variables exist. "I don't think you are going to find a single-family lot for $70,000 any more," he said. "It's probably going to be $80,000." Since the Red Hawk homes are in First Homes' land trust, the cost of the land is not included in the sale price. First Homes will maintain ownership of the property parcel, while the homeowners own everything on it as part of the program aimed at generating long-term equity for participants. The land trust also means buyers will evenly split generated equity from a future sale with First Homes. As a result, future decks, patios or finished basements will come at the buyer's expense with the need to split potential value if the home is sold. Woodford said other land trusts provide credit for such work but also claim a higher percentage of the remaining equity — 75% rather than a 50/50 split — to ensure a home remains affordable to the next buyer. While the land trust maintains the affordability of the homes, Paradise said it also means a similar home built by a private developer would likely see the sale price increase from $251,900 to at least $320,000 or $330,000. Paradise said another factor is financing. Since the county financed the entire project at one time, crews and subcontractors saw cost-cutting efficiencies in building 10 homes at once, rather than financing two to three homes at a time, which is typical in the market. "They just walked down the line," he said of the work that was completed in less than half the time it might have taken under traditional financing. "From an efficiency standpoint, I think it even proved to be better than what my subs thought it would be. They knew it would be good, but when you can have a handful of guys out there and you can work on two or three projects at the same time, the efficiencies are huge." He said the potential savings come with risk for developers, builders and financiers, who might need to pay for property upkeep if the homes aren't immediately sold. As it stands, Engel said the Red Hawk properties came with some unexpected expenses to maintain the sites, but it amounted to approximately $2,000 per property. It means the county will recoup the $2.5 million it spent on building the homes once they are sold, but approximately $700,000 will be invested in the land trust. Engel said the recouped funds will be available for future projects, with one option expected to be presented to the county's HRA board during its 4 p.m. meeting Thursday in board chambers of the city-county Government Center. The project proposed by Bigelow Homes is seeking a $1.7 million county loan to help create eight homes with price tags of less than $350,000. The proposal isn't expected to include the First Homes land trust, which limits buyers to households earning 80% or less of the area median income. Engel said the project is seen as the next step after the Red Hawk test, and Paradise said it will show the ability to provide a variety of housing through public-private partnerships. "I personally think there is a big need for that next step," he said.
