The starter-home.co.uk website comes as new rules have cut planning requirements for the new starter homes, allowing house builders to slash 20% off the usual price and building on the first properties is expected to start within months.
It is the latest major push from the government to boost home ownerships and build more homes and it is claimed that there is the potential for discounts of around £100,000 per house.
With average house prices for first time buyers in England standing at around £218,000, a new starter home could save young first time buyers across the country an average of £43,000 while helping to get them onto the housing ladder.
The plans will allow young first time buyers the opportunity to secure a new starter home at a 20% discount to the market price and thanks to changes in planning policy, builders that develop commercial and industrial land that is either unusable or surplus for the new starter homes will be able to save on costs by freeing them from the requirement to provide affordable housing.
In return, developers will have to offer the homes at a minimum 20% discount on the market price to first time buyers who must be aged under 40.
Leading home builders and councils have already have said they would consider bringing forward land to develop the new homes from this year, and from today will be able to start submitting their plans to get work started and pass the savings onto home buyers as soon as possible.
As well as reducing the prices of properties for young buyers, a design panel, including world class architects Sir Terry Farrell and Sir Quinlan Terry have drawn on housing designs from across the country for home builders to consider for starter homes developments.
Aimed at making sure the new homes are attractive properties that can meet the demands of modern life, the panel’s draft report highlights at a range of exemplar new build styles, which in time it is hoped will become the default approach for starter home developments.
They aim to be well proportioned homes, homes that fit in with existing local housing styles, and homes that get the details right with good parking and community spaces.
‘A 20% discount off the price could be a real game-changer for many aspiring home owners. My message is clear: we are on your side and we will help you fulfil your dream of buying your first home,’ said Prime Minister David Cameron.
Communities Secretary Eric Pickles said that the number of first time buyers is already at a seven year high and these starter homes will help even more people realise their dream of home ownership.
Sir Terry Farrell, founding partner at Farrells, said he believes that the templates developed by the government’s Housing Design Panel will raise the design standard of new build homes as well as raise the expectations of those who buy and live in them.
‘I hope that this is the start of a much wider move towards architecture, design and place making becoming a more central part of public discourse in this country, where everyone feels they can have a say,’ he added.