Aster commits to building 2,800 new shared ownership homes

Aster Group, the south of England-based housing association, has committed to nearly doubling its shared ownership portfolio within five years.

The landlord said it planned to build 2,800 new shared ownership properties by 2024, boosting the number of such homes it manages to more than 5,000.

Aster, which manages more than 28,000 homes across the south of England, including several properties in Plymouth (pictured), said it had built 453 shared ownership properties in the year to the end of March 2019, the highest single-year total for such homes.

With demand for shared ownership properties nationally expected to increase by 150% by 2023, according to property firm Savills, Aster’s assistant development director Amy Nettleton said the group was “committed to [the tenure] continuing to be a key part of our strategy and development pipeline”.

“Communication is key, and we must work together to build the shared ownership brand, simplifying the language we use when talking about the product.

“Only in doing so will we be able to dispel some of the myths that surround this type of tenure and really demonstrate the opportunities it can provide,” Nettleton said.

Research conducted by consultancy Another Way for Aster found that 60% of those polled didn’t know they could move from their existing shared ownership property to another one.

And while nearly three quarters (73%) understood the concept of staircasing – the process of gradually growing an equity stake in the property – only one in 10 had attempted it.

Earlier this month Aster appointed former housing ombudsman Dr Mike Biles as its new non-executive chairman.

Biles, who served as the sector’s ombudsman for 13 years until 2014, succeeds Andrew Jackson who has stepped down at the end of his term following four years in the role.