■ The expansion of shared ownership will open up new opportunities to invest in the income stream from unsold equity shares.
■ Demand for shared ownership is potentially substantial and is likely to be greatest where house prices are least affordable, albeit that it is difficult to deliver into the very highest value markets.
■ Shared ownership will need to compete with other assisted home ownership programmes, including Starter Homes and Help to Buy. In order to differentiate it from the other options, the greatest demand is likely to be for low initial share sales.
■ Expansion of delivery should increase interest from mortgage lenders, creating greater competition and bringing interest rates closer to those for full house purchase.
■ Imperfect information and limited opportunities mean that the investment market in the unsold equity shares is currently immature.
■ In order to maximise these opportunities, better information is needed on staircasing and delinquency rates so that the real value of the asset can be properly assessed.
■ Better information would also help lenders increase their maximum gearing ratios against shared ownership assets, opening up greater financial capacity for housing associations to deploy in building more homes.
Find out more about how shared ownership can work for you
