YouGov finds only 1 in 10 has heard of Discounted Market Sale Homes

Barely one in 10 (9%) potential buyers surveyed know about an affordable housing scheme which could help them to stay in their local communities, new research has found.

Ecology Building Society is calling on the Government to do more to support and promote Discounted Market Sale (DMS) Homes to prospective buyers who could benefit, after commissioning independent research from YouGov.

Access to DMS Homes is ringfenced for local residents, who can buy the homes at a discount below a property’s market value, offering significant savings in areas where property prices are high.

In doing so, the scheme addresses many challenges to getting on the property ladder, making it all the more important that prospective homeowners and first time buyers are aware this help is available to them.

YouGov research on barriers to home ownership

The independent research by YouGov with potential buyers aged 28 to 43 years old, commissioned by Ecology Building Society, found:

• 82% of respondents said it was important to live in their local or surrounding area
• 72% thought house prices generally were a barrier to purchasing a property
• 44% of people said there was a lack of affordable properties in their local area, while 46% said there was a lack of affordable properties more generally

Daniel Capstick, Ecology Building Society’s Senior Mortgages Product and Proposition Manager, called on the Government to do more to raise awareness of DMS Homes among the buyers who could benefit.

“We commissioned the research after launching our Affordable Local Homes mortgage, which was designed specifically for DMS Homes,” said Daniel.

“DMS can help thousands of people each year to stay in their local communities but we were dismayed only 9%, fewer than one in 10 of those surveyed by YouGov, had even heard of it.

“In Scotland and Yorkshire, awareness was even lower – only 5%, or one in 20 people surveyed – had heard of DMS, even though these are regions where many buyers may struggle to afford homes in their local communities. It’s unsurprising that awareness was higher in London, where affordability is most challenging, but even then only 14% – about one in seven people –  had heard of DMS.

“Once DMS was explained to the survey participants, 59% expressed an interest in the scheme and said it could help them to buy their first home.

“This shows a clear need for the Government to do more to better publicise DMS, which can help thousands of individuals, couples and families each year to buy homes and stay in their local communities.

“DMS enables those communities to remain sustainable and thrive, rather than forcing people to move away from family and friends because they can’t afford to buy where they grew up. We’ll be sharing our YouGov research with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.”

DMS accounts for a smaller share of the affordable housing market than Shared Ownership and is offered through Government schemes like First Homes, local authority projects subject to section 106 agreements (or rural housing burden in Scotland), or community-led schemes by groups such as Community Land Trusts. Prices are discounted in perpetuity to provide a stepping stone onto the housing ladder.

DMS buyers can struggle to secure mortgages

However, affordable housing buyers can struggle to secure mortgages, as the very restrictions designed to help DMS purchasers can put off many mainstream lenders. Ecology Building Society is among the minority of mortgage providers to lend on DMS Homes.

Daniel said: “Most lenders are unwilling to offer home loans on properties with residence restrictions so this lack of mortgage choice risks locking first time buyers out of housing schemes created to help them.

“That’s particularly true of schemes aimed at enabling purchasers to stay in their local area, which is why we launched our Affordable Local Homes mortgage.

“This section of the first time buyer market is growing, but currently under-served by lenders, so we’re urging more mortgage providers to follow our lead and look at how they can support this customer group.”

Affordable housing accounted for 27% of all new homes in England in 2022/23*, of which more 10%* of properties were offered as Discounted Market Sale Homes.

A shortfall of affordable housing is part of the wider housing crisis in the UK, acknowledged by pledges by the current and previous Governments to stimulate affordable housing growth.

Source: All data from research by YouGov (which surveyed 757 potential first time buyers aged between 28 and 43 in August 2025 for their views on barriers to home ownership), apart from data marked * from www.library.parliament.uk/supply-of-affordable-housing & Office of National Statistics