Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, said the release of Advantage Home Loans’ Flexishare product earlier this year would prompt a flurry of interest in the sector’s potential.
He said: “Over the next few years, more lenders are likely to come into the shared ownership sector. It is the one area of the first-time buyer market where lenders can see real growth potential. This area of the market is very limited at the moment, but with more lenders coming into the fray, there will be greater choice, prices will be driven down and more lenders will show interest.”
Following the Bank of England’s decision to increase the Base Rate in August, speculation is rife that the housing market will slow as a growing number of borrowers struggle to get on to the property ladder.
Yorkshire Building Society has confirmed it is planning to enter the market in 2007, after it launches its product for the government’s Homebuy scheme in October this year. However, its specialist lending arm, Accord Mortgages, will focus its attention on its entry into the buy-to-let market.
Linda Will, managing director at Accord, said: “With regards to shared ownership, it’s a case of never say never; we have a strong presence in Northern Ireland and shared ownership is a very large part of that market. However, it is not something we will be looking at in the near future as our main focus for the next year is the buy-to-let market.”
Tamsin Hemsley, public relations manager at Nationwide, said the lender had no immediate plans to follow Advantage’s lead, but did not rule out the possibility. She said: “We have no plans to launch a product in this area over the next year, but we are always looking for growth opportunities, particularly in the FTB sector.”
