Prospective homebuyers could be missing out on the opportunity of owning their own home due to their lack information about the buying process.
New research by insurer Beagle Street has revealed that thousands of young people are unaware of the various schemes on offer from the government designed to help them get on the housing ladder.
The reasons for the lack of understanding include poor information, difficult to understand jargon and confusion over constantly changing policies.
Would-be homebuyers are failing to access information on government schemes available to them, including Help to Buy, Right to Buy and Shared Ownership.
Just one in 25 prospective homebuyers (4%) surveyed feel well-informed about the government’s policies for first-time buyers, while over two-thirds (64%) of those polled either know nothing about them or would need significantly more information to form a decent understanding.
Over half (57%) of respondents said they were ‘very unfamiliar’ with the new Lifetime ISA scheme, set to be launched on 6 April 2017 – yet when given information about it, many welcomed its introduction.
The results indicate that 48% of prospective homebuyers are likely to take advantage of a Lifetime ISA, with 40% of those who hope to buy one day saying they were more likely to buy a home once it is introduced, including 16% who said they were likely to buy sooner than they would have done without it.
Encouragingly, two-thirds (64%) of prospective first-time buyers are already taking advantage of existing ISAs and savings accounts, with half (50%) typically paying in every month, and a further 10% paying in weekly or fortnightly.
Over a quarter of savers among potential homebuyers (28%) have saved over £5,000, while more than one in three (35%) of those who are in the process of buying a home have saved over £10,000.
Matthew Gledhill, Beagle Street managing director, said: “Despite the government’s recent housing white paper starting to reposition the housing debate towards renting rather than buying, it’s clear many people still want to buy a home of their own.
“Yet our research shows that many potential homebuyers either aren’t aware of the help on offer from the government or don’t know how to access these schemes.
“Buying a home is one of the key triggers for buying life insurance, with first-time buyers understandably keen to protect their biggest asset for their loved ones should the worst happen. This is just one among many important decisions first-time buyers need to make when stepping on to the housing ladder, and we feel they should be provided with all the information they need.”
The research coincides with the launch of Beagle Street’s Home Buyers’ Guide, which aims to answer all of these questions and provide the information first-time buyers need, with chapters on planning to buy, the application process, finding a house, the purchase process and moving in.
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