The High Peak housing problem.

For some owning a home will only ever be a dream due to the house prices and the thousands of pounds needed for a deposit.
High Peak housingHigh Peak housing
High Peak housing

A new national report issued last week from the Resolution Foundation showed home ownership in England peaked in 2003 at 71 per cent of the population and had now dropped to just under 64 per cent.

A shortage of houses has pushed prices up.

Eleanor Paulson, 33, is living in rented accommodation in Buxton, but would love to own her house.

She said: “I have been renting for nine years, that’s easily got to be well over £60,000 of dead money that I could have used for a house, but I’m not in a position to make savings and have to pay the rent.

“Renting never really feels like home because you have to ask if you can paint or put pictures up, and any money you spend on making the house a home you never benefit from in the long run.

“For me it will be impossible to own my own home even if I do save for a deposit. Houses are still so expensive after that.”

Buyers need at least a five per cent deposit to get a mortgage. A Right Move spokesman said: “The majority of sales in Buxton during the last year were semi-detached properties, selling for an average price of £192,902. Terraced properties sold for an average of £147,768, with flats fetching £121,728.

“Buxton, with an overall average price of £181,119, was similar in terms of sold prices to nearby Chapel-En-Le-Frith (£190,039), but was cheaper than Buxton Spa (£192,870) and the Peak District (£217,746). Overall sold prices in Buxton over the last year were similar to the previous year and four per cent down on the 2007 level of £189,042.”

For those who think that those prices are dauntingly high, there is help available.

The government has created the Help to Buy scheme to help people take steps to buying their own home. The new Help to Buy: ISA pays first-time buyers a government bonus. For example, save £200 a month and the government will add £50, up to a maximum of £3,000, boosting ISA savings of £12,000 to £15,000. See more at www.helptobuy.gov.uk.

Scarlett Bromley, 22, is in a council house in Fairfield.

She said: “It is hard for first-time buyers if you are renting, you are stuck in that loop. My partner uses the government ISA to try and save but it’s not something we can do as a priority.”

Paul Howarth, from Buxton, has just bought his first house. The 36-year-old said: “I got the keys on July 25. It has taken me two years to save up because I had to clear some debts first, but if it matters you put aside the money. I’m lucky enough to have a good job and I get that it can be difficult and you do have to make cutbacks, but it is worth it.”

There is also financial help from the government to buy new-build homes. Through Help to Buy: Equity Loan, homebuyers with a minimum of five per cent deposit will be eligible to receive an interest free equity loan from the government of up to 20 per cent of the value of their new home, leaving them only needing to secure up to a 75 per cent mortgage from a bank or building society.

This is available to homebuyers regardless of their annual personal income, with mortgages available from a number of high street lender.

High Peak Borough Council adopted its local plan in April which sets out the council’s vision and strategy for the borough until 2031, including clear outlines for where new-build properties can be built in the area.