A family-of-four that waited a decade for an affordable house of their own are celebrating after moving into the 10,000th property delivered by Sage Homes. This is a significant milestone for Sage Homes, which is backed by investors Blackstone and Regis Group, on its journey to deliver its target of 30,000 affordable homes by 2030.
Since delivering its first house in Nottinghamshire in November 2017, Sage Homes has grown to become the largest provider of newly built affordable homes in England for two years running, with its affordable and energy-efficient homes as far apart as Northumberland, Dorset, Lancashire and Kent. Sage Homes is also in the top 10 of registered providers of new homes for social rent.
There are currently 1.2m households waiting for affordable or social rent homes across England and all of Sage Homes’ for rent homes are provided to customers who are on council waiting lists. Sage Homes is also the largest provider of new shared ownership as well as affordable rent homes, helping those who cannot afford to buy on the open market the chance of moving into their own home.
Mark Sater, Chief Executive Officer of Sage Homes, said: “This is such an important milestone for everyone at Sage Homes and, crucially, our customers. The team we have built works hard to ensure that new affordable homes are delivered to those who need them most. With 10,000 homes already delivered and another 10,000 in our pipeline, Sage Homes is focused on meeting its target of 30,000 new affordable homes by the end of the decade.
“Ensuring our customers can access high-quality homes at a price they can afford is at the heart of what we do, and we will continue to work with developers and councils nationwide, as well as our partners at Homes England and the Greater London Authority, so that thousands more families can move into good-quality, energy-efficient and new affordable homes.”
This autumn, statistics from The Regulator of Social Housing showed that Sage Homes delivered 3,421 new affordable homes in 2021/22, more than any other registered provider for the second year in a row. According to the data, Sage Homes delivered more homes for affordable rent than the next two most prolific registered providers combined.
Gemma Kataky, Managing Director, Real Estate at Blackstone, said: “We were incredibly proud of Sage Homes being named the largest provider of affordable homes in England for the second year running. This significant milestone further demonstrates our commitment to delivering high-quality homes at scale. Together with Regis, Blackstone has invested over £4 billion into Sage Homes since its inception and we look forward to marking further significant delivery milestones, like this one, in the years to come.”
One of 90 affordable properties at Madgwick Park in Chichester, West Sussex, Sage Homes’ 10,000th home has been delivered in partnership with Barratt Homes and through a nomination from Chichester District Council for the McKenzie family.
Peter McKenzie had rented in the private sector for 16 years before moving in last week with his wife Joanne and sons Riley, aged 14, and Swaylee, seven.
Peter said the family love their new affordable home to rent, which has given their sons their own bedrooms for the first time. The family have twice received no-fault eviction notices from private landlords, including one just before Christmas 2017. Their new home means that they are no longer on Chichester District Council’s housing waiting list and Joanne, 45, who is a carer for son Swaylee, said she was delighted they no longer have the uncertainty of renting someone else’s home.
Peter, 43, a self-employed landscape gardener who volunteers with a local food bank and church, said: “This means the absolute world to us, and it especially gives security for our youngest boy and his autism because moving home is a big thing for him.
“A month ago, if you had given Joanne a blank piece of paper to explain her dream home, this is what she would have said.”
Joanne said: “I couldn’t be more grateful for what we have now. Living in other people’s homes, you don’t want that phone call to say ‘we’re selling’ – we have had five different homes in the last 15 years. I feel like I’m floating and I keep pinching myself and I can’t believe it; it’s beautiful and we love it.”
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