Government housing schemes see 71,000 completions

Help to Buy has helped more than 71,000 people across the country buy a new home, official statistics published today have revealed.

Related topics:  Finance News
Amy Loddington
28th November 2014
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In total over 66,000 households have been helped by Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee and Equity Loan. Help to Buy continues to overwhelmingly benefit first-time buyers, with the vast majority of sales outside of London and at prices well below the national average - 81% of Help to Buy sales are to first-time buyers, helping 54,000 into their first home.

The North West is the highest region for the mortgage guarantee, while the Equity Loan – a scheme for new-build properties – is particularly successful in the East and South East. 94% of completions under the scheme remain outside London.

The scheme was introduced to support hard-working people who can afford a mortgage, but struggle to save the deposits required by lenders in the wake of the financial crisis. Together with the government’s NewBuy scheme – which offers 95% mortgages for those buying new-build properties, the number of new home owners has reached more than 71,000.

The average house price for the combined schemes at £186,000, or £156,000 for mortgage guarantee and £211,000 under the equity loan scheme – all of which are well below the UK average house price of £273,000.

The average house price to income multiple under the mortgage guarantee scheme is just over 3.5x salary, and capped at a 4.5x ratio to ensure responsible lending.

Chancellor George Osborne said:

"This government’s long-term economic plan is all about supporting hard-working taxpayers achieve their goals – and for many, their biggest goal is owning their own home.

"That’s why this government created Help to Buy, which has helped over 71,000 people across the country buy their new home, the vast majority of whom are first-time buyers. It’s also helping to get Britain building again: housing starts soared by 23% last year, reaching their highest level since the economic crisis. Help to Buy is good for homebuyers, it’s good for the construction industry, and it’s great for the economy.

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