A landmark new affordable housing scheme is set to benefit middle-income home buyers.
The Irish Independent reported that The First Home shared equity scheme that has €400m funding from the Government, is set to begin in early July.
The scheme is designed to help bridge the gap for those whose income is too low to afford a big enough mortgage for their first home by the State providing an interest-free stake of up to 30%.
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Under the scheme, the purchase of new-build homes is to be jointly funded by the State and participating mortgage lenders. It 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. This will be based on the median value for a new home in the area
AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB have already signed up to the plan which is expected to cover the purchase of 8,000 new homes over the next four years. Other lenders are expected to follow.
The announcement by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, comes after President Michael D Higgins labelled the nation's housing policy a “disaster" in recent weeks.
Mr O’Brien said he and his officials had been working on the scheme for two years, getting clearance for it from the European Union, the European Central Bank and the Central Bank here.
“I think this scheme has the potential to be a real game-changer for that group of people who can’t buy because of the gap between the finance they have and the finance they need. It will make a difference quickly.”
“I am targeting 2,000 homes a year for the next three years under this scheme, and we could do more.”
Former Home Building Finance Ireland executive Michael Broderick will head the First Home scheme.
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