That’s according to new data from Leeds Building Society, based on the experiences of its own borrowers.
It found that last year the average price of a property bought by a shared ownership borrower with the mutual was nearly a third more expensive than those with members who bought their first property without using the shared ownership scheme.
For example, in Greater London the typical shared ownership purchaser needed an average deposit of £11,024. By contrast first-time buyers using mainstream deals needed a deposit more than 10 times larger.
This was not limited to the capital. In the South East, the average deposit for mainstream buyers was 6.7 times higher than shared ownership borrowers, ahead of the South West (6.3 times), the North East (5.7 times) and the West Midlands (4.8 times).
What’s more, the average age of first-time buyers using the shared ownership scheme was 4.6 months less than those relying on mainstream mortgage products.
Martese Carton (pictured), director of mortgage distribution at the mutual, noted that as the gap between incomes and property prices grows, affordable housing schemes are crucial to keep home ownership affordable.
She continued: “We believe there’s a lack of supply of shared ownership properties, which have the potential to help many more first time buyers. We’d like to see greater government support for increasing the supply of affordable housing.
“We’re always looking for ways to widen access to home ownership so we’ll continue to monitor trends closely to ensure our products and lending criteria are meeting borrowers’ needs.”
Recent research from Just Mortgages suggested that use of shared ownership schemes is set to grow, though greater awareness and understanding of the scheme is needed.
