PM hails Help to Buy success
The Help to Buy scheme has helped more than 17,000 people to buy a new home.
Help to Buy, the government scheme to help people buy a new home, is overwhelmingly benefiting first time buyers. As the scheme becomes increasingly popular, the vast majority of people are buying homes outside London and the South East.
New figures show that 17,395 people have already bought a home through Help to Buy as the number of aspiring homeowners using the scheme continues to grow.
Find out more about Help to Buy.
First-time buyers
Today’s statistics confirm that both sides of the Help to Buy scheme are overwhelmingly supporting first-time buyers, with over 80% of sales going to people taking their first step onto the housing ladder (89% Equity Loan and 82% Mortgage Guarantee).
Success across the country
The figures also reveal how Help to Buy is benefiting every region of the country. The highest number of people buying a home through the Mortgage Guarantee is in the Scotland and Northwest, while the Equity Loan - the scheme for new-build properties, helping to stimulate house building – at its highest in the South East.
77% of those supported by Help to Buy at from outside London and the South East, 85% for Help to Buy Mortgage Guarantee completions.
Find out how Louise, Aaron and Victoria benefited from Help to Buy.
Responsible lending
Help to Buy continues to support responsible lending, with the average cost of a house bought under the Mortgage Guarantee at £148,048 and the average cost of a house bought under the Equity Loan scheme at £203,137, both of which remains below the UK average house price.
An average house price bought under Help to Buy as a whole is £194,992.
Mortgage Guarantee completions triple in just one month
The mortgage guarantee continues to be a success with homebuyers, with completions tripling from 750 to over 2,500 in just over one month and mortgage lenders from both ends of the scale continuing to see strong demand: 2 of the largest lenders, Lloyds and RBS has received 9,569 applications, and one of the smallest lenders in the scheme, Aldermore has received 2,313.
Equity Loan extended to 2020
Today’s news comes following the government’s commitment to extend the Help to Buy Equity Loan, the part of the scheme for new-build homes, up to March 2020 with a further £6 billion to help 120 000 more households buy a new-build home, meaning around 200 000 people are expected to be helped by the Equity Loan side of the scheme alone. There are currently 10,424 reservations are already in the pipeline.
The Prime Minister said:
Help to Buy is a key part of our long term economic plan, giving thousands more people the security and independence that comes from owning their own home.
Notes to editors
The Help to Buy Equity Loan enables people to buy a newly-built home with a deposit of at least 5% of the property price, while the government offers a loan of up to 20%. The rest is covered by a mortgage.
Meanwhile, the Mortgage Guarantee offers mortgage lenders the option to purchase a guarantee on mortgages where a borrower has a deposit of between 5% and 20%. Because of this support, participating lenders are able to offer more mortgage products to borrowers with small deposits.
| Scheme | Mortgage Guarantee Scheme | Equity Loan | Help to Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of completions | 2,572 | 14,823 | 17,395 |
| Average (mean) value of property (£) | £148,048 | £203,137 | £194,992 |
| Percentage of first time buyers | 82% | 89% | 88% |
| Percentage outside London & South East | 85% | 76% | 77% |
Total Equity Loan plus mortgage guarantee per region (provisional returns)
| Region | Number of sales |
|---|---|
| South-East | 2,844 |
| East | 2,259 |
| South-West | 2,153 |
| North-West | 2,058 |
| West Midlands | 1,837 |
| East Midlands | 1,706 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 1,806 |
| London | 1,095 |
| North East | 1,057 |
| Northern Ireland | 33 |
| Scotland | 416 |
| Wales | 131 |
Equity Loan by region
| Region | Number of sales |
| South-East | 2,542 |
| East | 2,060 |
| South-West | 1,947 |
| North-West | 1,716 |
| West Midlands | 1,631 |
| East Midlands | 1,475 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 1,534 |
| London | 977 |
| North East | 941 |
Mortgage Guarantee by region
| Region | Number of sales | Average sale price |
|---|---|---|
| South-East | 302 | £205,407 |
| East | 199 | £181,730 |
| South-West | 206 | £164, 670 |
| North-West | 342 | £123,561 |
| East Midlands | 231 | £136,453 |
| West Midlands | 206 | £140,023 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 272 | £122,522 |
| London | 118 | £286,868 |
| North East | 116 | £118,179 |
| Northern Ireland | 33 | £94,832 |
| Scotland | 416 | £112,421 |
| Wales | 131 | £116,453 |