Help to Buy creates 43 per cent additional new homes

According to an evaluation of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government, 43 per cent of newly built homes have been achieved directly as a result of the programme.

The Help to Buy scheme was launched in 2013 to help people who were unable to save sufficient funds to pay a deposit required by lenders. Statistics show that since the launch, over 130,000 people have been able to meet their ownership aspirations.

The research also found that 82 per cent of buyers under Help to Buy would have been unable to purchase their home without the support of the scheme.

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Anyone who works hard and aspires to own their own home should have the opportunity to do so and this report shows how the government’s Help to Buy scheme continues to turn those dreams into a reality.

“We’ve got the country building again and seen the number of new homes increase by 25 per cent in the last year alone with thousands of people across the country helped by the scheme.”

The report found that there was no evidence that the scheme had driven up house prices and suggested that the average price of homes under the scheme is £212,000, considerably lower than the UK average of £267,000.

Read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/help-to-buy-creates-surge-in-new-home...