Smart first steps on the property ladder

GOVERNMENT-BACKED initiatives, coupled with increased funding from mortgage lenders, has led to a big increase in first-time buyers coming onto the property market.

The number of first-time buyers in the first six months of this year soared to 120,000 – a jump of 19 per cent on the 101,000 first-time sales recorded in the same period in 2012.

The figures come from the Halifax First-Time Buyers Review, an effective barometer of the starter end of the housing market.

The review also revealed that firsttime buyers are taking up an increasing share of the market – rising from 40 per cent in 2012 to 44 per cent in 2013.

There are a number of key reasons for the re-emergence of the first-time buyer.

Government schemes such as New Buy and Help to Buy played a vital role in the increased first-time buyer sales, say the Halifax.

Another boost for the market came from increased funding being made available by mortgage lenders – building societies and mutual societies in particular.

Brian Morris, head of savings policy at the Building Societies Association, says mutuals have increased their lending to all types of borrowers including first-time buyers and those with small deposits.

“In fact, lending to first-time buyers accounted for almost a third of all lending by the sector in the year to June, helping 38,000 people take the first step on the property ladder,” he added.

Some major banks are also playing their part. Propertywide.co.uk reports that the first-time buyer market has also been stimulated by initiatives like Santander’s Help to Buy mortgage scheme.

And the Lloyds Banking Group has announced it will be a leading player when the Government’s Help to Buy mortgage indemnity guarantee scheme is extended next year.

Lloyds has committed to lending £6.5 billion to first-time buyers.

All of this good news, however, does not mean an end to the bank of mum and dad.

Propertywide.co.uk also reports that first-time buyers are still turning to their parents for help – with parents stumping up an average £17,000 in help to buy.

And first-time buyers still face a daunting challenge to reach that first rung on the ladder.

The average price of a first-time buyer home in England is around £173,000 and that is predicted to rise to £245,000 by 2020.

And what about here in York?

Well, we’ve looked at a number of new home developments in and around the area that offer smart homes for first-time buyers – although it should be noted that not all offer the Government Help to Buy initiatives.

It should also be noted that firsttime buyer developments tend to see properties snapped up pretty quickly!

Bootham Green, York

The ultimate city starter home development, handily-placed for York centre, the hospital and the Nestle factory. This is a smart collection of ultra-modern homes on the site of the old Shipton Street School, promising to be one of the most eco-friendly developments built in York.

The builders, Leeds-based Rushbond, are aiming for a ‘green lifestyle’ for the families who move into what will be a friendly collection of 38 ‘eco-homes’ designed to reduce energy bills.

A blend of newly-built properties and conversions to previous premises, they promise much in the way of light, bright and airy rooms with highly contemporary – and in some cases luxurious – styling including oak timber laminate flooring in kitchen, living and dining areas, solid hardwood veneer internal doors, fitted wardrobes with sliding mirror doors in bedrooms, timber panelling and tiling to bathrooms.

Externally, many of the houses have integral garages, all have parking spaces and there are dedicated garden areas which will be landscaped with turf, fencing and semimature hedging.

It’s already proved a very popular spot with many homes flying away to off-plan buyers. Selling agents Hudson-Moody tells us there are just nine homes left, seven of which are three-bed properties with prices at £250,000 and two of which are two-bedroomed homes with prices at £160,000.

Contact: Hudson-Moody.

Tel: 01904 650650.

Huntsman’s Court, Stockton-on- Forest

This newly-launched development is a small select gathering of nine homes, three barn conversions and six new cottages, created by London Ebor and, according to marketing agents RM English, “ideal starter homes”.

With prices beginning at just under £160,000 for high-quality build and finish properties they might well be on the way to ideal.

The most expensive of the properties here is plot 3, a delightfully quirky and individual home which has a ‘wraparound’ open-plan kitchen, dining and lounge arrangement with two sets of French doors opening onto a rear garden, as well as a ground floor cloakroom and a storage cupboard. Upstairs, two decent-sized bedrooms share a house bathroom. Lots of space, lots of style for the price of £199,950.

Plot 2 is another conversion, this one offering a living room, separate kitchen with bathroom on the first floor and a second bedroom with en-suite on the first floor; the price is £194,950.

And plot 1 is the last of the barn conversions, with a long open-plan living/dining/ kitchen arrangement and a bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor and with a second bedroom above. The price for this one is £189,950.

The six remaining properties are mid or end-terraced cottages with variations on a living room and kitchen dining room and cloakroom on the ground floor and two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

Prices start from £159,950 going up to £189,950 for the three-bedroomed version.

All of the properties are tucked away off the village’s main street and with the (soon to be reopened) Fox pub less than a hop, skip and jump away – and with the village primary school not much further.

Stockton-on-Forest is also handilyplaced for commuter routes into York and the A64 and has a nice rural feel.

Ideal starter homes, indeed… Contact: R M English.

Tel: 01904 697900.

Huntington Court, Huntington

Following the phenomenal success of its Ouseacres development, Linden Homes have now launched their Huntington Court starter home development, a new collection of some 32 properties, with a mixture of two, three and four-bed houses.

As with Bootham Green, this has been a very popular site with 17 or the 32 plots quickly reserved, sold off-plan with not a brick laid and within a short time of the homes being released.

With prices starting from £159,950 and with the backing of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme giving an enormous boost to first-time buyers, Huntington Court looks like something of a blueprint for the future of first-time buying.

Examples here include a ‘Marston’ style home, a three-bedroomed semi with a single garage, priced at £209,995, and giving you an entrance hall (with cloaks off) a lounge and dining kitchen and three bedrooms up the stairs with a house bathroom.

And then there is a ‘Welton’, a mid or end link home with allocated parking for £159,950 to £164,950 which boasts a hallway with kitchen and a cloakroom off, a living dining room with French doors to the garden and two bedrooms and a bathroom up the stairs.

Contact: Linden Homes.

Tel: 01904 797329.

Derwenthorpe, Osbaldwick, York

The second and third phases of the David Wilson/Joseph Rowntree Homes much-praised and award-winning Derwenthorpe ‘eco-homes’ development offers a number of opportunities for firsttime buyers.

In the new ‘Lotherington Quarter’, for instance, there is a range of two and three-bedroomed house styles with prices from £189,995 to £209,995.

Of these, the Primrose style, as an example, offers a very spacious (more than 20ft long) lounge and through dining room, a fully-fitted kitchen and cloakroom and store on the ground floor, while above there are three good-sized bedrooms and a house bathroom for that £209,995.

At the starter end, the Bluebell offers a similar layout downstairs with two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs – and with the added bonus of a balcony as well as a south-facing garden. Great value at just under £190,000.

Government help-to-buy schemes are available at this development.

Contact: Derwenthorpe sales team.

Tel: 0800 590733.

Revival Apartments, Tadcaster Road, York

Taylor Wimpey and Shepherd Homes are the co-partners on this development which has seen a raft of family homes springing up in a community just off the top end of Tadcaster Road, handily placed for commuting routes and with easy access to York city centre (not least thanks to a park and ride facility at the nearby Tesco superstore).

After building family homes on this development, both companies have now moved into providing apartments on the site. And they are proving pretty popular… Shepherd Homes have sold 33 apartments off plan and have just 15 remaining with prices ranging from £143,995 and £154,995.

As an example of the sort of layout you will find here, we looked at the Ebor style which has a smart open-plan lounge/dining room with fitted kitchen (a range of appliances included) and with a French door out to a balcony. There are two decent-sized bedrooms and a bathroom.

Prices for the Ebor start at £143,995.