First-time Buyer
Help to Buy schemes see over 350,000 get on the property ladder
Guest Author:
Paloma KubiakMore than 350,000 people across the UK have completed on a property purchase using the government’s Help to Buy schemes while more than a million Help to Buy ISAs have been opened.
In total, more than 1.1 million Help to Buy ISAs have been opened since the first-time buyer scheme was launched in December 2015. And 106,612 property completions have taken place, with 143,894 bonuses paid out.
The average Help to Buy ISA amount is £725 with the mean value of a property purchased via the scheme coming in at £171,648, compared to an average first-time buyer house price of £190,679.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government figures to September 2017 reveal that over 300,000 first-time buyers have got on the property ladder with over 93% of completions across the Help to Buy scheme taking place outside London.
The statistics show more than 144,000 completions have taken place through the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, which offers buyers up to 20% of a newly built home’s costs (40% in London) so buyers only need to provide a 5% deposit. In total, the value of equity loans was £7.39bn with the value of properties sold via the scheme standing at £35.31bn.
Housing minister, Dominic Raab, said: “This government is committed to helping more people get on the housing ladder, with the support of a range of low cost home ownership products.
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“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.”
In the November 2017 Budget, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond announced stamp duty would be cut for first-time buyers and pledged that 300,000 homes would be built each by the mid-2020s.