This is a decrease of 17% from the previous quarter, when 908 homes were purchased - the cumulative total of home purchases completed under the scheme now stands at 2,291.
However, activity in the last six months still represents nearly three-quarters of completions under the scheme as it launched to a slow start last year, completing just 253 purchases in its first quarter and 376 in its second.
Ben Thompson, MD Legal & General Mortgage Club, comments on the results:
“The UK is in dire need of a greater supply of affordable housing to meet ever increasing demand, and NewBuy, along with other Government stimulus measures, has been a laudable step in the right direction in meeting this need. While many have pointed out that too much stimulus may cause artificial house price inflation in London and the south-east the truth is that many areas of the country are still very much in need of schemes like NewBuy to get things back on track and to help many first time buyers achieve their ambition of home ownership.”
