b'expect to be able to staircase out of it if they wanted to. I think its really important and makes a massive difference to our communities. (Interviewee 6)In many parts of the country, interviewees felt that shared ownership is the only realistic route into home ownership for households with relatively low deposits:And its helping people on moderate deposits. Although weve seen deposits rise, the average deposit for shared ownership is around 20-25k. The average deposit in the market in London is around 100k. (1)For many households, saving a large enough deposit to enter home ownership is very challenging, particularly where house prices are high, but also where households are paying substantial rent. Shared ownership requires a lower average deposit and is therefore an important route of access into home ownership for such households:Historically a lot of our lending has been concentrated in London and the South East. Thats always accounted for around 50% of the cases that we do. Theres been an increasing move further north with some of the shared ownership. Our view has always been that shared ownership is great because it gets people over the deposit hurdle, which is more of a blocker down south. (Interviewee 9)There were mixed views on the importance of staircasing for shared owners. Some felt that shared ownership was a useful step on the way to outright ownership and highlighted the importance of being able to staircase out to 100%:Were pulling it right back to where its the only sensible option in the market, or where its to help people get on the housing ladder. We dont want people to be at 50/50 for the rest of their lives. It is about getting them staircasing, moving them on. Its for people who can afford a bit more than renting but cant afford to buy. Thats our market. (Interviewee 4)Others felt that shared ownership was a valuable tenure option even without staircasing for owners who stayed long term with a partial share, as it gave people a stake in their local community and investment in an asset:I dont think people should view this as a stepping stone to full ownership. I think thats wrong. It should be considered a tenure for life. Even if they just have 50%, its 50% more than they own if theyre just renting. So theyve got an investment in it. (Interviewee 9) 2'