And housing minister Kris Hopkins has the role this scheme is playing in the government’s long-term economic plan, both helping people buy their own home but also boosting house building and creating jobs in construction.
He said: “In 2010 we inherited a broken housing market, where hard-working people who could afford a mortgage were locked out of home ownership because they couldn’t get the deposit together.
“Help to Buy is changing that – to date, this scheme has enabled 35,000 people buy their own place with a fraction of the deposit they would normally require.
“And with house building up a third over the past year, it’s clearly having a wider impact, getting workers back on construction sites and building the homes communities want and need.”
Since the launch of Help to Buy 14 months ago, 22,831 people have bought newly-built homes through the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme.
There have also been 7,313 sales through the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee and 5,173 sales through the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme. This takes total sales through Help to Buy to over 35,000.
All sales through Help to Buy: equity loan – and three-quarters of overall sales through all elements of Help to Buy – are new-build properties.
Since the launch of the scheme, house building is up a third compared to last year and at its highest level since 2007, while 216,000 planning permissions were granted in the last 12 months.
Recent estimates still show that Help to Buy accounts for just 3% of overall house sales. Nationally, 86% of Help to Buy: equity loan sales were to first-time buyers, while the average house price under the scheme was £206,084 – far lower than the £252,000 average house price. The vast majority of Help to Buy: equity loan sales – 94% – are outside London.
