The scheme is set to help thousands more people on to the property ladder by offering homes on a part-buy, part rent basis. It differs from traditional shared ownership schemes as these homes are typically restricted to pre-determined locations agreed by local authorities (called Section 106 agreements) when they grant planning permissions.
Home Stepper allows housebuilders to convert a wider range of open market houses and apartments into affordable Shared Ownership if their would-be purchasers can’t afford the asking price. This means buyers on lower incomes and with smaller deposits can afford homes previously beyond their reach. A Shared Ownership home is typically cheaper than renting privately and considerably cheaper than the cost of buying a home on the open market.
The roll-out of the new scheme will start with around 800 new, high-quality homes nationwide through a partnership between Sage Homes and Vistry Group, whose brands include Linden Homes, Bovis Homes and Countryside Homes.
Vistry Group’s partnership with Sage Homes will make Home Stepper available nationwide on selected Linden, Countryside and Bovis homes.
Greg Fitzgerald, Vistry Group Chief Executive, said: “We have a long track record of working in partnership with Sage Homes to deliver affordable homes and to realise the house buying dreams of thousands of customers, and this is the latest exciting chapter in that relationship.
“As the leading provider of multi-tenure affordable homes in the country, we are acutely aware that the ability of people to access the housing market is crucial to our economy and society, and we are proud of the part we are playing in that. We look forward to building many more homes and delivering many more dreams in partnership with Sage Homes through this Home Stepper scheme.”
Iain McPherson, Chief Operating Officer at Sage Homes, said: “We’ve been able to deliver almost 12,000 affordable homes in just over five years by working closely with our partners, so I’m delighted to take this further by introducing Home Stepper.
“Our new Home Stepper scheme aims to make the Shared Ownership product available in more locations to more aspiring home owners looking for attractive and high-quality homes to call their own.”