Estate agency giant launches shared ownership division

Countrywide has launched a Specialist Shared Ownership Services division as it looks to stake its claim to offering the best catch-all service to would-be buyers.

Shared ownership, whereby clients buy a share of the property and pay rent to the landlord on the rest, has grown exponentially in recent years.

MARKET VALUE

Normally buyers take a share between 10% and 75% of the home’s full market value and pay rent to the landlord for the share they own and in most cases a monthly ground rent and service charges for the upkeep of communal areas.

More shares can then be bought in the future – known as ‘staircasing’ – which in turn would reduce the amount paid in rent.

For Countrywide, what was initially a side-line for the agency has ballooned from selling 40 shared ownership units in 2019 to more than 900 in 2023 – an 2,150% increase in market activity.

Through its Affordable Housing Team, Countrywide already provides services for Housing Associations, Local Authorities and the For-Profit sector on a nationwide scale.

GREAT VEHICLE

Owen McLaughlin Managing Director of Countrywide Land and New Homes, says: “Shared ownership is a great vehicle for people to join the housing ladder and it’s growing in popularity.

“We have been working with shared ownership as part of our New Homes services, but with the expertise we hold through our Affordable Homes Director, Roy Hind, and his team, we increasingly found the demand for a specialist service was snowballing.”

McLaughlin says that they support clients from inception and land buying right through to handing over the keys to buyers on move in day.

He adds: “The phenomenal breadth of the Connells Group proposition includes almost everything a housing association could need, both in respect to new build and existing stock.

“This is a massively exciting launch for us, we have already worked with many well-respected partners and industry giants and are stepping into to 2024 poised to expand.”