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West Berkshire's rise in affordable housing




The number of houses intended for shared home ownership grew last year

THE number of houses being built for shared ownership in West Berkshire soared last year – but the average house price also continues to rise.

Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government show that a total of 77 houses intended for home ownership were completed in 2018 – a significant improvement from none in 2017.

It is the largest number of houses completed for shared home ownership in the district in the past three years.

All 77 of the houses were built using Section 106 agreements – financial contributions provided by property developers to support identified local need for affordable housing, which are becoming increasingly used for the construction of these types of homes.

Shared ownership – also known as equity sharing or co-ownership – is a cross between buying and renting.

It is mainly aimed at first-time buyers or those who don’t earn enough to buy a house outright.

Those who opt-in buy between a quarter and three-quarters of a property, with the option to buy a bigger share in the property at a later date.

In total, 128 additional affordable homes were built in West Berkshire during 2017-2018.

The Conservative-led district council unveiled “their most ambitious manifesto yet” ahead of the 2015 elections, aiming to have 1,000 affordable homes built by 2020.

Affordable housing is split into different categories, including social rent and affordable rented.

Of the 128 affordable homes completed in West Berkshire last year, five were for affordable rent – which means the council and non-for-profit organisations, such as housing associations, let properties for up to no more than 80 per cent of the market value.

Analysis released by homelessness charity Shelter shows that the delivery of social homes in the South East has plummeted since the start of the decade, from 5,935 homes in 2009-10 to 925 in 2017-18.

But in West Berkshire the number of completed additional social rent dwellings jumped from just four in 2017 to 46 in 2018.

The Government data also shows that there were an estimated 2,065 households on West Berkshire Council’s housing waiting list last year – the lowest number since 2004.

But by the end of the second quarter of this financial year, the average house price in West Berkshire rose to £359,424, up from £346,208 in the first quarter of 2018-19, a 1.2 per cent rise.

This represents an increase in the average house price in the district of £16,151 in the past two years, according to Land Registry data.



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