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Help for 1st time buyers
isn't enough, says Southport lawyer
MORE help for 1st time buyers in the
North West is needed, according to a Southport residential property law expert.
Michael Foxford, partner at Cambridge Road based Birchall Blackburn Law, said
people are struggling to get on the housing ladder due to a number of reasons
and existing initiatives don't go far enough to help.
His comments come following a report from the Resolution Foundation which
revealed home ownership in England has fallen to the lower levels in 30 years.
The report, based on analysis of the latest Labour Force Survey, showed in early
2016 only 58% of households in Greater Manchester were homeowners, compared with
a peak of 72% in 2003.
In outer London, the peak in ownership came earlier, in 2000, but the fall was
also from 72% then to 58% in February. The West Midlands and Yorkshire have also
seen double digit drops, driven by declines in Sheffield and Leeds.
Michael also said more houses need to be built; to meet the demand for 1st time buyers as well as the rest of the buying market.
Michael said:- "For many becoming a home owner is just a dream with little
chance of ever becoming a reality. For instance, many who rent don't have the
means to also save up for a deposit and some people don't earn enough to be able
to put aside the large sums needed.
While the Help to Buy ISA does benefit some people, the feedback we are seeing
is people need this to go further, perhaps with increased bonuses.
There's also the shared ownership scheme under the Help to Buy banner where you
can buy a share of your home and pay rent on the remaining share, and while
these schemes do support people, more needs to be done if we're ever to see home
ownership get back to their previous levels. Aside from this more houses need to
be built; we need more affordable homes for people on ordinary incomes sooner
rather than later."
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