12
Jan
Flagship Help to Buy schemes in UK now helped over 350,000,
official data shows
Over 350,000 people across the UK have now used the
Government’s flagship Help to Buy schemes, including more
than 300,000 first time buyers, official figures show.
First time buyers have also embraced the Help to Buy Isa with more
than 1.1 million now opened which offer Government top up bonuses
of up to £3,000 for saving towards a home deposit.
The figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local
Government (MHCL) also show that over 93% of completions across the
Help to Buy schemes have taken place outside of London.
A breakdown of the figures show that the most completions using the
Help to Buy ISA have taken place in the North West, and Yorkshire
and the Humber and in total, 106,612 completions have taken place
across the UK using the ISA bonus since its launch in December
2015.
The London Help to Buy scheme provides an equity loan of up to 40%
for buyers in the capital with a 5% deposit. It has helped 5,715
buyers in the capital across 33 boroughs purchase their own
property between February 2016 and September 2017.
John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, said that Help to
Buy remains part of the wider plan to tackle housing issues and get
people onto the housing ladder.
‘The Government’s Help to Buy schemes has helped make
that dream a reality for more than 350,000 people so far, with the
ISA currently being used by many more future buyers to save towards
that goal,’ he added.
New Housing Minister Dominic Raab said that it shows how committed
the Government is to getting more people into home ownership.
‘Thanks to our Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme the dream of
home ownership continues to become a reality for thousands more
households across the country,’ he pointed out.
More than 140,000 completions have now taken place through the Help
to Buy Equity Loan scheme, which offers buyers up to 20% of a newly
built home’s costs so they only need to provide a 5%
deposit.
He also pointed out that 95% of first time buyers who pay stamp
duty will also benefit from the tax changes announced in the Budget
which saw the property tax abolished for first time buyer purchases
up to £300,000, and made this relief available for the first
£300,000 of properties worth up to £500,000, providing
help for people in higher value areas.
Shaun Church, director at mortgage broker Private Finance, pointed
out that the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme is on track to have
enjoyed its most successful year to date, with completions to the
end of the third quarter of 2017 up 23% on the previous year.
‘Help to Buy is a vital lifeline for first time buyers, many
of whom struggle to save for a deposit amidst rising house prices.
Given that the average value of a property bought through the
scheme falls around £200,000, the scheme is clearly successful
in benefiting its intended audience. Consistently growing take-up
of the equity loan scheme suggests the market would benefit from
more high loan to value (LTV) mortgage products, though the
availability of these has improved significantly in recent
years,’ he explained.
He also pointed out that the first users of the equity loan scheme
who purchased in 2013 will begin to incur interest on their loans
this year, which could motivate them to move up the property
ladder.
‘Our own analysis shows many areas, particularly in the South
of England, have seen significant house price growth since 2013,
putting buyers in good stead to repay their equity loan debt.
However, those in areas that have experienced limited house price
growth will have to look to alternative methods of settling their
debts before they can climb the ladder,’ he added.