28 February 2015
A UK website has officially launched today to allow young people to register their interest in buying one of the new homes.
From Monday, new rules will cut planning requirements for the new Starter Homes, allowing house builders to slash 20% off the usual price.
Building on the first homes is expected to start within months.
Getting onto the housing ladder
The move is the latest major push from the government to get Britain building and help hardworking young people secure the dream of home ownership with potential discounts of around £100k per house.
With average house prices for first time buyers in England standing at around £218,000, a new Starter Home could save young first time buyers across the country an average of £43,000-helping to get them onto the housing ladder.
The plans will allow young first time buyers the opportunity to secure a new Starter Home at a 20% discount to the market price.
Thanks to changes in planning policy, builders that develop commercial and industrial land that is either unusable or surplus for the new starter homes will be able to save on costs by freeing them from the requirement to provide affordable housing. In return, they will have to offer the homes at a minimum 20 per cent discount to the market price to first-time buyers under 40.
The country’s leading home builders and councils have already have said they would consider bringing forward land to develop the new homes from this year, and from Monday, will be able to start submitting their plans to get work started and pass the savings onto home buyers as soon as possible.
High quality design
As well as reducing the prices of properties for young buyers, a Design Panel, including world class architects Sir Terry Farrell and Sir Quinlan Terry have drawn on housing designs from across the country for home builders to consider for Starter Homes developments.
Aimed at making sure the new homes are attractive properties that can meet the demands of modern life, the Panel’s draft report highlights at a range of exemplar new build styles, which in time it is hoped will become the default approach for starter home developments. The homes the panel have highlighted are:
•well proportioned homes
•homes that fit in with existing local housing styles
•homes that get the details right with good parking and community spaces
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said:
“We want to help people who work hard and want to get on in life but have been priced out of the housing market. A 20% discount off the price could be a real game-changer for many aspiring home-owners. My message is clear: we are on your side and we will help you fulfil your dream of buying your first home.”
UK Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said:
“Housebuilding and helping first-time buyers are key parts of our long-term economic plan – we’re clear that anyone who works hard and wants to get on the property ladder should get the help they need to do so.
“The number of first-time buyers is already at a seven-year high and these Starter Homes, available at a 20 per cent discount, will help even more people realise their dream of home ownership.
“This will also form part of our wider efforts to get the country building again, which have already led to 700,000 new homes being delivered since the end of 2009.”
UK Sir Terry Farrell CBE, Founding Partner at Farrells, said:
“In the Farrell Review of Architecture and the Built Environment I argued for design quality to be a much higher priority within government and I am delighted to see that this is happening. The templates developed by the government’s Housing Design Panel will raise the design standard of new-build homes as well as raise the expectations of those who buy and live in them.”
“I hope that this is the start of a much wider move towards architecture, design and placemaking becoming a more central part of public discourse in this country, where everyone feels they can have a say.”