Taylor Scott International News
The number of people joining the housing ladder in the UK using government support schemes continues to grow as new figures show more than 77,000 homes have been bought under the flagship Help to Buy schemes. Overall the figures show more people are getting a home of their own through the scheme and as a result house building levels continue to climb. Some 41,533 households were helped into new build homes under the Help to Buy equity loan scheme up to December 2014 and of these 83% are first time buyers. Also, 94% of total sales were outside London. The figures also show that 30,269 households were buying new and existing homes through the Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme and 5,588 households were supported into a new build home through the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme. It means that in total more than 77,000 households have been supported under Help to Buy up to December 2014. Sales through the Help to Buy have been strong across the country, with Wiltshire at 748 seeing the highest number. The top five other areas that have a strong number of Help to Buy sales include Leeds at 669, Central Bedfordshire at 650, Milton Keynes at 567, Peterborough at 564 and Birmingham at 527. ‘The figures show clearly that Help to Buy supports aspiring homeowners and is a key part of our drive to help hardworking people who want a home of their own. To date, Help to Buy has helped over 77,000 households to purchase a home with just a fraction of the deposit they would normally require,’ said Housing Minister Brandon Lewis. ‘The scheme has also helped get the country building again, with private house building up 20% over the last year, and it’s highest since 2007. Industry figures showing 100,000 new house building jobs have been created in just the last 18 months, show clearly that Help to Buy is a success,’ he explained. The recent steep increase in house building activity has seen builders across the country recruiting heavily, according to Home Builders Federation executive chairman Stewart Baseley. ‘The industry needs skilled and ambitious people in a range of areas including bricklayers, site managers, engineers and finance professionals and offers an exciting and rewarding career for anyone who wants to help build the communities of the future,’ he said. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
