The waiting list for shared ownership homes in West Berkshire has reached record highs with 1121 families, couples or individuals desperate to get on the housing ladder, new research out today has revealed.

The latest statistics from Sovereign Housing Group indicates that even if every affordable home was earmarked for part-buy part-rent, it would still take 10 years to clear the backlog.

Sovereign’s Marketing Manager Gary Bremner said his team had been inundated with enquiries, including many from parents keen to help their grown-up children on to the housing ladder.

“With a joint income of nearly £60,000 needed for a couple to buy a typical home in this area, there’s a whole generation who are interested in shared ownership. What we are seeing is surging demand for part-buy homes in specific areas, like Newbury and Thatcham. We’re even getting enquiries about schemes like Newbury Racecourse and Willow Close, which have yet to gain planning consent.

A decade ago, first time buyers needed to borrow 2.3 times their salary to buy a house, but in West Berkshire, that figure is now 4.3 times the typical wage. As a result, first time buyers are getting older, with the average age up from 31 to 34.

The demand has been so great that Sovereign received 60 applications for 13 shared ownership properties at Abbots Grove, Deadman’s Lane, Greenham.

Published 27 October 2006
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