Priced out of the market?

FOR months all they could do was gaze through shop windows, longing to own a home of their own one day.

Instead, the young couple had to continue living with their parents because getting a foot on the housing ladder was just too expensive.

And the thought of renting a property added to their frustration as they saw it as a "waste of money".

But for Andy Leaman, 20, and his partner, Kim Cox, 19, there was a light at the end of the tunnel and after years of waiting they secured themselves a flat in Regent House, Shirley.

Their story is typical of scores of people who have been hit by the shortage of affordable housing and ever-escalating prices in Southampton and Hampshire.

House prices in Southampton have rocketed by 136 per cent between 1995 and 2003.

Figures released recently showed that a household needs an income of at least £31,800 to buy a flat and £36,000 for a terraced house -- but the average income in the city is only £25,399.

The Right to Buy initiative introduced under Margaret Thatcher's government saw Southampton City Council's housing stock slashed from 33,000 at its peak to about 17,000 today - nearly half.

Yet there are as many as 10,000 people still on the council's waiting list desperate for a place of their own.

Andy considers he and Kim were lucky that they got their two-bedroom flat in Shirley, giving them the opportunity to move from their parents' homes.

He said: "We had both been living with our parents but wanted our own space and the flat is great.

"It's made such a difference to our lives and means we can live independently."

Their ordeal started when they were placed on Southampton's council waiting list more than two years ago.

Now the couple have bought a 50 per cent share of the property with Eastleigh Housing Association and pay rent on the other 50 per cent.

They have joined a City Council initiative -- called the shared ownership scheme -- which is one of four created to combat the rising need for affordable housing.

Andy, who works for retailer Hobbycraft, said: "Renting wasn't an option for us. We felt it was just a waste of money - money we would be throwing down the drain.

"We were willing to wait a while to get on the housing ladder. It was hard work but we got what we wanted."

He added that Southampton did seem to be suffering a shortage of affordable housing.

"There are some around but not nearly as many as people need," he said.

A report released by the National Housing Federation in the summer indicated a dire lack of affordable housing across southern England.

It showed that the number of families on council house waiting lists across the region had risen by almost a third since 1999.

In Eastleigh the figure went up by 285 per cent, on the Isle of Wight it rose by 214 per cent, in the New Forest it went up by 175 per cent and in Southampton to increased by 181 per cent.

A spokesman for the federation said: "There is a dire shortage of affordable housing in the south-east. Every home not built means another family remaining homeless or in overcrowded and sub-standard housing conditions."

The government's official target for the south-east is for 12,000-13,000 homes to be built every year.

That works out at between 179 and 194 new affordable homes for each local authority.

National Housing Federation figures actually show a net annual loss of 20 homes in each area.

Paul Russell, the city council's cabinet member for housing and homes, said the situation in Southampton was on a knife's edge.

He said: "House prices have spiralled so much in recent years that it is virtually impossible for people on lower incomes to purchase their own property. And it is increasingly expensive for us to build council houses - so much so that we have nearly 10,000 people on our waiting list."

The future of the city council's housing stock is also lying in the balance, with a consultation under way with tenants.

They must choose whether they want to remain city council tenants or be taken over by a housing association, an arm's length management organisation, or bring in private funding to build new homes and upgrade the current ones.

The end result is that all council houses should meet the Decent Homes Standard by 2010.

This means they must be in a reasonable state of repair with modern facilities and a reasonable degree of heating.

John Denham, Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, agreed that the housing situation in the city was in a tricky position but insisted that the council had options.

"We are in a difficult situation but there has also been record investment in affordable housing in the past few years," he said.

"People who are renting need to be given the opportunity to buy houses that are affordable to them and, in particular, the key workers."

He added that councils should look at the different types of funding being made available from government.

But Cllr Russell argued that government was not giving local authorities enough backing or funding.

He added: "We are looking at all loopholes in government funding to see if we can perhaps find a way of them funding us and putting us on a level playing field so we can meet the public demand."

THOSE trying to take their first step on the housing ladder had the chance to talk to experts at an exhibition held in Southampton Civic Centre.

Scores of people visited the event, which ran through the afternoon and into the evening.

It was an opportunity to get in touch with the city council and its partners and find out more about waiting times, what building work is taking place and how they can break into the market.

Natasha Hart, housing enabling manager at the city council, said the large turnout proved it was a success.

"It was people who don't quite have enough money to access the market that came along, people who want to get on to the housing ladder," she said.

"There is a need for rented accommodation in the city but many people also want to own their own homes."

Representatives from the council's housing partners were at the exhibition along with mortgage lenders.

Miss Hart said: "Last year we built 401 affordable houses but we also lost 250 to the Right to Buy scheme. When you have 10,000 people on the waiting list, you realise it isn't enough."

There are four different schemes currently being offered by the council.

They are:

Shared ownership - which allows a person to buy a small share and then increase ownership.

Shared equity - the applicant gets a mortgage of between 25 and 75 per cent and the housing association owns the rest.

Homebuy scheme - allows applicants to buy a home on the open market at just three-quarters of the asking price with the final 25 per cent on loan from Swaythling Housing Society.

Key workers - open to employees such as teachers, prison staff, nurses and occupational therapists.

Nicola Whiting, a home ownership officer at Swaythling Housing Society, said: "The day was very successful. We were still setting up and people were trying to get in.

"We have a large number of houses being built at the moment and we are letting people know about them and how they can apply for them. Because prices keep going up, a lot of people are looking at shared ownership"