This Could Be The Best Ever Time To Buy Your New Home

People who have been putting off their dream of buying their own home in today’s unstable market are being advised by Orbit First Step to have a rethink as they believe that now is the perfect time to take their first step onto the property ladder.

The National Association of Estate Agents has reported that the number of First Time Buyers looking to purchase their first home increased by 14.5 per cent in January, compared to the same period last year, indicating a rise in consumer confidence in the housing market. At the same time, house prices rose by 1.9 per cent, ending ten months of consistently plummeting prices, according to Halifax.

“As buyers return to the market, the demand for affordable houses will outstrip supply and prices will inevitably start to increase again,” said Orbit First Step’s Sales and Marketing Manager, Karen Coleman. “At the moment, they are still far lower than they have been in recent years and interest rates have fallen dramatically which means that those who were previously squeezed out of the market are now in a better position to buy their first home.

“In line with the current national trend, here at Orbit First Step, we’ve also seen an increase of activity so far this year, among both First Time Buyers and those who simply need to move house following a change in circumstances. We recorded a healthy 48 per cent increase in applications, in January, for our low cost home ownership schemes compared with the average across the last three months of last year. We received 426 enquiries in the first month of this year and three-quarters of these resulted in applications, which we are obviously delighted about.”

“We’ve had lots of interest in our popular New Build Home Buy scheme which allows people to buy a share in a property. They purchase a minimum of 25 per cent of the property, depending upon how much they can afford, and pay a subsidised rent on the remaining share. There’s often no deposit required under this scheme and the additional beauty of it is that the property doesn’t have to be on a shared ownership basis for ever. Buyers have the option to increase their share in their new home in the future until they own the property outright, just like someone purchasing with a conventional mortgage.”

Orbit First Step is currently marketing a wide range of property types across the Midlands, the South East and East Anglia under the New Build Home Buy scheme.

Many of the properties are also available under the recently introduced Rent to HomeBuy scheme which enables people to move into the property they want to purchase straight away as a tenant and pay a discounted rent – saving around 20 per cent against the current market rental rate. Then, at any time within a three year period, they have the opportunity to purchase the property under the terms of the New Build HomeBuy scheme.

Karen continued: "We appreciate that some buyers are confused by the number of products available to help people get onto the property ladder; they are unsure what their monthly costs will be and whether they will be eligible for the schemes on offer. We would therefore recommend that anyone who has been struggling to get onto the property ladder contacts us and we'll be more than happy to explain the options available to them."

If you would like further information about the properties available or would like to know more about the New Build HomeBuy and Rent to HomeBuy schemes, please call Orbit First Step on 08458 50 20 50 or visit www.orbitfirststep.org.uk.