Clarion completed a two-month pilot with Stairpay, which Stairpay say saw a 50% increase in staircasing transactions
Places for People has signed a deal with Stairpay, a digital platform that automates shared ownership staircasing transactions, while Clarion has also completed a two-month pilot using the technology.
During the pilot, Clarion reportedly had a 50% increase in staircasing transactions and noted “strong resident engagement with the app”.
Stairpay has also signed an agreement with the online portal for shared ownership properties, Share to Buy, which will facilitate the automatic listing of shared ownership homes for sale.
Initially, Stairpay’s technology will be available for Places for People’s shared ownership customers on the new Homes England lease for homes funded under the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26.
Last year, Homes England introduced the 1% micro-staircasing option, which raised concerns among housing associations due to the extra administrative work of providing House Price Index (HPI) valuations upon customer request.
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In written evidence submitted to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) committee’s inquiry on shared ownership last November, housing associations said that the 1% staircasing option, the repairs allowance of up to £500 per year for 10 years and the 10% initial purchase share have increased the affordability of the shared ownership product for buyers, but have also added costs onto registered providers.
Stairpay, funded by an HM Land Registry grant, has a fully automated self-service solution for 1% staircasing.
The platform enables eligible residents and housing associations to receive official HPI valuations through a live feed from the Land Registry, and also automates the legal documents and payment processes.
The Stairpay app allows tenants to forecast the future monthly costs for their mortgage, rent and service charges, track the value of their shared ownership home and determine the best time to staircase to 100%.
Currently, eight and a half million people rent in the UK, while only 20,000 shared ownership properties became available in 2021-22.
The end of the Help to Buy scheme in 2022, which facilitated the purchase of nearly 390,000 new-build homes, has also created a supply gap.
As a result, the number of first-time buyers fell to a 10-year low of 293,000 last year.
Michelle Wood, director of home ownership at Places for People, said: “As an organisation our ultimate goal is to ensure everyone has somewhere to call home. Shared ownership is a great way of supporting people into home ownership in a way that works best for them and we are committed to doing all we can to help them throughout the process of owning more, and eventually all, of their home as soon as possible”.
Wood added: “So, we are excited to implement Stairpay’s technology to make the process of buying more equity in their home a more streamlined and automated process which we hope and believe will lead to more of our customers buying more equity in their property.”
Floris ten Nijenhuis, founder of Stairpay said: “Stairpay was born out of the desire to solve the challenges faced by first-time buyers looking to get onto the property ladder. The UK has the largest shared ownership market globally, but has challenges to address. Our partnerships with Places for People, Clarion and Share to Buy signify the collective intent to apply a data-driven approach to significantly improve the shared ownership experience for both residents, housing associations and other stakeholders which will see more people realise their dream of full home ownership.”
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