Housing associations in the UK are now far more in number than before. Earlier, it was not unusual to find very few takers for properties that were available and people had to wait a long time to get their property delivered to them. In fact the waiting lists used to be so big that many people had to literally wait a number of years just to have a look at the housing property. Today however, the trend has witnessed a positive change and housing associations generally are not short of housing stock.
This positive change has been brought about due to reforms and better planning laws that have made it mandatory for developers to commit some percentage of their land holding towards affordable housing, which will be managed by the housing associations. These properties will then be either sold outright or rented out by the association as they deem fit.
The economic growth and boom that UK has witnessed over the last few years fuelled the real estate industry growth and everybody wanted to own a home. First time buyers along with investors wishing to make a quick buck in this booming industry has led to a profusion of construction activity. Middle class, or the working class people, also could now look for reasonably priced homes in some of the new properties being developed by the councils.
The housing associations in the UK were able to provide a regular and continuous supply of reasonably priced properties, not only for first time buyers, but also for investors under various schemes such as the New Build Home Buy Scheme. The concept of shared ownership and equity backed by the government also gained prominence as well as credibility. In this, the first time purchasers could now go ahead and buy their house by availing of a mortgage loan as well as an equity loan. First time buyers could now purchase houses paying a fixed percentage of the cost and pay the rest as rent to the housing association. They were also free to increase their share contribution at any time, thus making it a flexible option for them.
Tenants on the other hand would also benefit due to the affordable rent charged by the housing associations and need not be dependent on only property available in the open market at high rental rates. Those having the purchasing power, benefit in terms of the wider choice of houses they can look at and decide upon. They can now pick and choose their flats, taking transport conveniences and other amenities into consideration, and are not compelled to take what is available at a particular point in time. The system is thus beneficial to both first time buyers as well as tenants and helps to ease the load on the councils to make available housing stock that is always affordable.
Housing associations in the UK also have the advantage of resale properties, which they can dispose of when they wish to, thereby increasing the flow of housing stock into the market.
gallions housing association offers affordable housing in london and the south east. find out more about our affordable housing schemes today.
