1.3m right to buy HA

ukcarper

Not bad is it be one of the very few lucky people to get a housing association property live there 3 years and buy it with a 35% discount. While other hard working people try to save a deposit and then if they can buy a house at full price.

I will be very surprised if one new property will be built for everyone sold.

floridaman

So we are thinking this won't effect house prices?

Generali

floridaman wrote: »

So we are thinking this won't effect house prices?

It's hard to see how it could have a large effect on house prices.

If the Government really does keep the social housing stock at the same level, i.e. builds a house for each one sold, that implies an increase in the housing stock which could lead to increased supply and thus falling prices.

TBH though I don't think the numbers involved are large enough to be significant.

padington

I think this will lead to a housing boom sentiment as the previous pattern around buying council flats in the 80's did. It's a scene setter. It says 'remember before, that's what we are doing again'. I expect it to make people sub consciously more bullish and given the other underlying factors, they would be right to be, in my opinion.

wymondham

ukcarper wrote: »

Not bad is it be one of the very few lucky people to get a housing association property live there 3 years and buy it with a 35% discount. While other hard working people try to save a deposit and then if they can buy a house at full price.

I will be very surprised if one new property will be built for everyone sold.

It does seem to be odd doesn't it. Must be hard for someone not able to take advantage through no fault of their own..

michaels

ukcarper wrote: »

Not bad is it be one of the very few lucky people to get a housing association property live there 3 years and buy it with a 35% discount. While other hard working people try to save a deposit and then if they can buy a house at full price.

I will be very surprised if one new property will be built for everyone sold.

Not sure how HA rents compare to private rents but for sure as soon as you give someone a council house they are benefiting from a rent discount for life worth much more than the RTB discount; indeed when exercising RTB they are probably accepting less than the ongoing discount is worth to be bought out.

wotsthat

michaels wrote: »

Not sure how HA rents compare to private rents but for sure as soon as you give someone a council house they are benefiting from a rent discount for life worth much more than the RTB discount; indeed when exercising RTB they are probably accepting less than the ongoing discount is worth to be bought out.

It would be nice to think that's the case but I doubt it.

I would expect that many ex HA tenants will quickly 'cash in' the free gift and try and get themselves back in another HA rental. They've already won the lottery twice (getting a HA in the first place and then a discount to buy it) so probably expect their taxpayer funded luck to continue.

Herzlos

chucknorris wrote: »

The discount %'s look high, my father in law would get the max discount % of 70%, but the London cash cap of £103,900 cuts down the actual discount to about 20% (based on the approx. value of his house at £525k).

That's still a £103,900 discount on a house (which would buy mine outright), whilst everyone else would have to pay over the asking price to get it.

chucknorris

Herzlos wrote: »

That's still a £103,900 discount on a house (which would buy mine outright), whilst everyone else would have to pay over the asking price to get it.

The point I was making is that 20% is nowhere near 70%, so the potential available percentage discounts don't necessarily tell the full story.

cells

michaels wrote: »

Thanks, the BBC rewrite of this press release made it sound like the £11bn was the total if all new RTB rights were exercised not only those who could afford it so actually potentially it will cost 11.bn.

The other thing is that the 35% afordability is in areas where there is arguably less need for replacement housing whereas in London and the SE where houses are shorest in supply the affordability is only 15%-20%

High house prices have killed off RTB of council homes

something like 4+ million tenants already have the right but only about 10,000 a year make use of it.

This RTB for HA just ups the right to about 25% more people so all rlse equal the sales should go up by 25%. That means about 2,500 sales a year.

Average subsidy is what £40k? Or £100m a year if 2,500 are sold

So nowhere near £11 Billion