By Ted Healy of DNG TED HEALY

This week Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien announced a new landmark affordable housing scheme which will benefit thousands of middle income home buyers.

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The First Home Shared Equity Scheme, set to be rolled out from early July with €400m funding from the Government, is designed to bridge the gap for those whose income is too low to get them a big enough mortgage to buy their first home.

The three main banks have signed up to the scheme which will see the State providing an interest-free stake of up to 30 percent in the home.

It is expected to cover the purchase of eight thousand new homes over the next four years.

Under the scheme, the purchase of new-build homes is to be jointly funded by the State and participating mortgage lenders.

AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB are on board with the scheme, and other lenders are expected to sign up.

The flagship First Homes Scheme in the Government’s 'Housing For All' strategy, will have no income limits for those who apply for it.

However, there are limits on the value of properties that will qualify for the scheme in each local authority area. The limits will be based on the median value for a new home in the area.

The new scheme is set to be welcomed by those who are earning too much to qualify for social housing, but too little to qualify for a mortgage in a property market where values are back close to Celtic Tiger peaks.
It will help bridge the gap between the finance they have and the finance they need to purchase their first home. It will make a difference quickly.

As an example, a couple with an income of €70,000, who want to buy a €320,000 new home, will put up a 10 percent deposit, the most they can borrow is €277,000. This leaves a gap of €43,000.

First Home would provide this amount as equity, with no interest for the first five years.
This couple could also benefit from the State’s Help-To-Buy scheme, which usually provides tax relief of up to 20 percent of the property’s value.

The scheme will apply to first-time buyers, but also to divorced people and those who have been made bankrupt.

Further details of the scheme are available on www.gov.ie.