11 July 2012
On 27 June NCOSS and Regional Development Australia Sydney (RDA Sydney) held a joint workshop on Innovative Financing for Home Ownership through Shared Equity Initiatives. The purpose of the workshop was to outline what shared equity home ownership schemes involve, assess what is happening in other states and territories, and discuss the possibilities for a NSW scheme, as part of the broader affordable housing strategy that NCOSS has been advocating to governments.
The workshop was attended by a range of NGO, business, government and
other groups, and facilitated by Craig Johnston, Acting EO of Shelter
NSW. The keynote speakers were:
- Simon Pinnegar, Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Policy, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW;
- Greg Cash, Director of Market Innovation and Partnerships, Housing WA; and
- Helen O'Loughlin, Director of Community & Place Strategy, Housing NSW, Department of Family and Community Services.
A formal write up of the workshop is in preparation. In the meantime
we will be adding resource material to this page as it becomes
available.
What is shared equity?
Shared equity arrangements cover the range of products, schemes and
initiatives which 'enable the division of the value of a dwelling
between more than one legal entity' (Whitehead and Yates, 2007, p. 16).
This umbrella term is used to encompass government-backed and private
sector-led schemes based on arrangements whereby the purchaser enters
into an agreement with a partner to share the cost of purchasing a
property. The approach is attractive from several perspectives:
- Compared to conventional mortgage arrangements, shared equity can
enhance affordability for homebuyers by reducing both deposit
requirements and ongoing housing costs.
- It may provide mortgage lenders with opportunities to expand into
new markets and offer equity investors a more flexible opportunity to
invest in residential real estate other than through direct investment.
- From a policy perspective, it provides government with the
opportunity to develop frameworks that can assist households both
access, and sustain, homeownership. More broadly, shared equity
approaches can contribute to policy reform and offer a means of
leveraging in more – and more appropriate – forms of affordable housing.
Source: Innovative financing for home ownership: the potential for shared equity initiatives in Australia by
Simon Pinnegar, Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph, Peter Williams and
Judith Yates for the AHURI UNSW-UWS Research Centre, August 2009 p.2
Resources
Links to partner organisations
Information
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