A study examined a range of issues related to the resale of shared ownership properties following improvements that were funded by the resident owner. The report said that there was, at the point of sale, a balance to be achieved between the interests of the seller, the buyer, and the housing association that held the remaining share. It outlined the existing position regarding valuations and relative shares, available options, difficulties with mortgages, and alternative options.
Source: Anna Clarke and Andrew Heywood, Reselling Shared Ownership Properties After Improvements, Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (University of Cambridge)
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
A think-tank report called for increased numbers of new build shared ownership properties, to enable greater affordability of home ownership for low and modest income households. It called on government to remove existing regulations and restrictions on shared ownership properties and to encourage additional private sector investment into the sector.
Source: Vidhya Alakeson, Hannah Fearn, and Giselle Cory, One Foot on the Ladder: How shared ownership can bring owning a home into reach, Resolution Foundation
Links: Report | Resolution press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Nov
A report by a committee of MPs said that it was essential to evaluate the outcomes of the new homes bonus, following the change from grant-based to incentive-based funding. The report said that the government's planned evaluation was urgently required.
Source: The New Homes Bonus, Twenty-ninth Report (Session 2013-14), HC 114, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | DCLG response | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Oct
The government published further details on how the 'help to buy' mortgage guarantee scheme would operate.
Source: Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee Scheme – Scheme Rules, HM Treasury
Links: Scheme rules | Deed of guarantee | HM/PMO press release | CML press release | CIH press release | NIE press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A think-tank report examined the prospects for institutional investment in building for rent, looking at where and how build to rent might work, advantages for tenants, investor returns and key challenges.
Source: Vidhya Alakeson, Katie Blacklock, Sandra Halilovic, Tim Rothery, and Nick Salisbury, Building Homes for Generation Rent: Can institutional investment meet the challenge?, Resolution Foundation
Links: Report | Summary | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Oct
A new book examined housing finance. It considered the finance of building and refurbishment, and managing and maintaining property for different tenures (owner occupation, council housing, housing association, and private renting); and it discussed whether existing arrangements were sustainable.
Source: Cathy Davis, Finance for Housing: An introduction, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Jul
A study examined lessons from best practice, both internationally and from within the United Kingdom, that could help support the expanded financing of affordable housing supply. Long-term housing policy needed to address market failures and permanently reduce housing market volatility, which would mean re-examining housing taxation and the safety net for vulnerable home-owners, as well as supporting the rented sector's wider market role.
Source: Kenneth Gibb, Duncan Maclennan, and Mark Stephens, Innovative Financing of Affordable Housing: International and UK perspectives, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2013-Mar
