Taylor Scott International News
Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed his government’s flagship Help to Buy scheme which aids people buying a new home, as a great success after figures show over 17,000 benefitted in the months since its launch. Figures shows that it is overwhelmingly benefiting first time buyers and contrary to critics it is not benefitting people in London and the South East with the vast majority of buyers outside these areas. The newly published figures reveal that 17,395 people have already bought a home through Help to Buy and the number of aspiring homeowners using the scheme continues to grow. Over 80% of sales were to people taking their first step onto the housing ladder with 89% part of the equity loan scheme and 82% the mortgage guarantee scheme. The highest number of people buying a home through the mortgage guarantee scheme is in the Scotland and the North West, while the equity loan part for new build properties, was at its highest in the South East. But overall some 77% of those supported by Help to Buy were from outside London and the South East, 85% for Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee completions. ‘Help to Buy is a key part of our long term economic plan, giving thousands more people the security and independence that comes from owning their own home,’ said Cameron. His officials pointed out that Help to Buy continues to support responsible lending, with the average cost of a house bought under the mortgage guarantee at £148,048 and the average cost of a house bought under the equity loan scheme at £203,137, both of which remains below the UK average house price. An average house price bought under Help to Buy as a whole costs £194,992. The data also shows that the mortgage guarantee continues to be a success with home buyers, with completions tripling from 750 to over 2,500 in just over one month and mortgage lenders from both ends of the scale continuing to see strong demand. Two of the largest lenders, Lloyds and RBS have received 9,569 applications, and one of the smallest lenders in the scheme, Aldermore has received 2,313. The figures were published after the announcement confirmed in last week’s Budget that the equity loan part of the scheme has been extended to 2020. That means a further £6 billion to help 120,000 more households buy a new build home. There are currently 10,424 reservations already in the pipeline. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
