In accordance with the recent publishing of governmental housing proposals, as nodded to in the latest construction news; of those residential development sites with ten of more properties, a fifth of those properties will now be required to constitute starter homes, ensuring the provision of affordable housing across varied communities.

As can be expected, starter homes are to be priced at a discount rate of at least 20% less than the presently cited market value to offer opportunities for those looking to get on the property ladder under the age of forty. Of course, the decision comes at a much-needed time, ensuring that there will be the provision of affordable, yet quality homes for first-time buyers across the country.

Coming as part of the government’s present commitment to deliver some 1m new homes, the move will see a further dedication to providing quality homes targeted towards those requiring affordability and availability most – effectively, those yet to enter onto the property market as of yet. As such, a commitment has been laid out for the construction of circa 200,000 of such homes, which is backed by a £2.3bn fund to push the development of such properties, including some on brownfield sites.

Brandon Lewis, Housing and Planning Minister commented: “We want to ensure young people who aspire to own their own home can settle down and enjoy the security home ownership brings.”

Of course, not just offering affordable pricing, the move will also see a mixed bag of properties to be seen across the country, with both private and affordable housing to sit alongside one-another, not then providing food for the “us and them” argument, whereby affordable houses might traditionally be present within their own communities, and private within others. This, of course, is expected to be a positive move in maintaining balanced, positive communities with some of the social boundaries often seen in more wealthy areas broken down, if only to a very slight degree.