Help to Buy aiding 400,000 onto the housing ladder

New Treasury figures have shown that more than 400,000 people have been able to buy their first home thanks to the government’s Help to Buy schemes.

In total, 458,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes, some 402,000 of which were first time buyers. The quarterly figures reveal that first time buyers have now opened 1.2 million Help to Buy: ISAs, offering government bonuses of up to £3,000 on top of their savings, that the average house price purchased through the schemes is £201,881 and over 93 per cent of completions across the Help to Buy schemes have taken place outside of London.

Regionally, the London Help to Buy scheme - which provides an equity loan of up to 40 per cent for buyers in the capital with a five per cent deposit - has helped 13,697 buyers across 33 boroughs purchase their own property between February 2016 and June 2018.

John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: “We want to help as many people as possible experience the fantastic feeling of pride you get when you collect the keys to your first home. That’s why we offer the special Help to Buy: ISA for them to save, cut their Stamp Duty and introduced a new Help to Buy Equity Loan to run until March 2023.”

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire added: “I am committed to making the housing market work for everyone and restore the dream of home ownership for a new generation. It’s great news that since 2010 we have helped over half a million people get on the housing ladder, through programmes such as Help to Buy. We are determined to do more, which is why we have dedicated over £44 billion of investment to help deliver the homes communities need.”