■ Changing attitudes to welfare and falling grant levels are prompting housing associations to assess their role. The need by registered providers to examine their charitable purpose comes at a time of low housing building levels and growing housing need.

■ Despite the improving economy and strengthening housing market, we believe that the excluded households we have defined in this document will continue to struggle to participate in the property market.

■ Help to Buy will not help all those excluded from the property market by the credit crunch. The data so far suggests that the take up of both the equity loan part of the scheme aimed at buyers of new build and the mortgage guarantee, which allows buyers to purchase homes priced up to £600,000, has been in lower value markets. It is also stimulating higher levels of building. This is welcome news.

■ However, our analysis suggests that outside London, the median incomes of the excluded households we have defined, falls below the household incomes of those currently moving on and up the ladder through Help to Buy.

■ We expect that Help to Buy will support some 400,000 transactions over its three year lifespan – 75,000 sales of new build through the equity loan scheme and 325,000 loans using the mortgage guarantee element of the scheme. At an average of 133,000 transactions a year, this falls well below the current annual 500,000 shortfall we have identified.

■ An improving mortgage market, supported by Funding for Lending and a strengthening economy is likely to boost the levels of transactions further. However, a gap will still remain.

■ It is therefore time for a new approach to housing that looks beyond homeownership as the tenancy of choice. While it is unlikely that we will see the return of social sector as the main provider of housing, as we saw in the 1970s, it seems increasingly clear that for many ordinary households aspirations of homeownership will not be realised.

■ Despite the increase in housebuilding from the private sector, more is needed to meet the demands of a growing population. As the economy improves a lot of new supply from the private sector will be aimed at market sale. However, the demand for privately rented homes remains strong.

■ Bolstering the private rented sector with higher quality housing at market rents is therefore key to providing the levels of housing the country needs. Housing associations are well positioned to take on this challenge.

Taken from
Spotlight: Bridging the Gap in Housing