What is an affordable home?
One of our overarching goals is to build 300 truly affordable homes within our local area. We are well on our way to achieving that goal with a significant number of homes already built and occupied at Hanborough Gate, the first tenants and owners have moved in already at Park View and we have many more due to move in at our future communities.
All of our new communities are made up of different types of home tenure – standard home purchase at market price, shared ownership home purchase, market price rentals and affordable rentals.
What does affordable mean though?
Our main offering of Shared Ownership allows a buyer to purchase from 40-100% of their home, renting the remaining percentage. It’s a great option for those who don’t have a full deposit but want to buy a home now. Every owner is able to buy 100% of their home over time, through ‘staircasing’.
The affordable rental scheme is operated in partnership with West Oxfordshire District Council and we have a housing officer who works closely with them to find the right homes for the right people. Homes are typically at 40% below market rental.
Buying through affordable schemes
The First Homes scheme is a government initiative in England designed to help first-time buyers purchase a home by offering properties at a discount compared with the open market price. Under the scheme, eligible buyers can buy a home with the discounted price capped at £250,000 on the first sale.
The discount is protected in perpetuity by legal restrictions on the property’s title so that future eligible buyers also benefit from reduced prices. To qualify, purchasers must be first-time buyers aged 18 or over, have a household income below set limits (£80,000 outside London), and be able to secure a mortgage for at least half of the discounted price. Local councils are able to introduce additional local criteria and prioritise key workers or people with local connections.
How many homes will we create?
We are on track to create 300 affordable homes in the Woodstock area and the surrounding villages.
We are building affordable homes because we want to make homes in Oxfordshire more affordable for the communities who have grown up here, it goes back to the historic purpose of a landed estate. We believe we have a moral obligation to help improve the communities around us, so that together we all thrive.
