300,000 Homes Sold Under Help To Buy Scheme

More than 300,000 households in England have bought a home with the support of the Help to Buy equity loan scheme since it was launched in 2013. Government figures show 313,043 households have bought a home with the support of the scheme. Around eight in 10 were first-time buyers. Purchasers can borrow up to 20% of the cost of a new build or 40% in London, funding the balance with a mortgage and repaying the loan when they sell. One in 20 (5%) of those who have used the scheme had a total household income of more than £100,000. However the most common household income bracket was £40,000 to 50,000, with 21% in this category. Read more on the Belfast Telegraph website.

300,000 homes in England sold under Help to Buy scheme - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk 

Help to Buy Scheme: Insulation – Parliamentary Written Answer

Apsana Begum: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to extend the interest free period on Help To Buy Loans for leaseholders living in buildings with unsafe cladding.

Christopher Pincher: The Government is conscious of the need to make any financing scheme affordable for leaseholders. That is why we have said that any financing scheme will have a £50 a month cap. We will publish more details on how these will work alongside existing funds (including the Building Safety Fund (BSF)) soon. There are no plans to extend the interest-free period on Help to Buy Equity Loans.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2021-02-22/156607

Help To Buy Extended Until The End Of May

The Help to Buy equity loan scheme has been extended by two months to 31 May to accommodate buyers and builders with applications already underway. The deadline has been changed due to the pandemic, which has impacted the time it takes for developers to build homes, while the housebuying process has been notoriously slow and cumbersome for buyers over the past few months. Homes England said in a statement: “There will be no more extensions, so we are asking homebuilders to continue to build at pace.” Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/help-to-buy-extended-until-the-end-of-may/ 

Homes England Extends Help To Buy Deadline

Homes England has extended the practical-completion deadline for people looking to take part in the government’s Help to Buy equity loan scheme, to take account of delays to the sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Buyers hoping to secure a 20% government loan in lieu of a deposit were required to complete their transactions with developers by February 28 ahead of the Help to Buy scheme’s end on March 31. But Homes England has now written to participating housebuilders extending the practical-completion deadline to the end of March, which remains the legal completion deadline for the scheme – due to be replaced with a new offer exclusively for first-time buyers from the start of April. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/homes-england-extends-help-to-buy-deadline/5109931.article 

Hiatus Fears As New Help To Buy Rules Are Finally Published

Housebuilders may not be able to get approval under the new scheme before the end of the year Housebuilders are concerned about a potential hiatus in sales following the publication of long-awaited details about how the new Help to Buy scheme starting next April will work. According to documents published by the government late last week setting out how the new Help to Buy equity loan scheme will work, it could be as late as December before housebuilders are formally approved to sell homes under the scheme. Read more on Housing Today.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/hiatus-fears-as-new-help-to-buy-rules-are-finally-published/5107735.article 

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of Help to Buy, Equity Loan customers are in arrears.

Esther McVey: At end November 2019 1,983 Help to Buy customers or 5.8 per cent of the total due to be paying interest fees, were in arrears. The large majority of customers in arrears are only one or two payments behind and this debt very largely reflects short-term administrative issues with direct debit set-up at the start of the interest fee paying period. Total interest fee arrears of £189,000 at end of November 2019 represent 2.7 per cent of total amounts charged to customer accounts.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-02-03/11448

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many and what proportion of Help to Buy, Equity Loan customers are in arrears.

Esther McVey: At end November 2019 1,983 Help to Buy customers or 5.8 per cent of the total due to be paying interest fees, were in arrears. The large majority of customers in arrears are only one or two payments behind and this debt very largely reflects short-term administrative issues with direct debit set-up at the start of the interest fee paying period. Total interest fee arrears of £189,000 at end of November 2019 represent 2.7 per cent of total amounts charged to customer accounts.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2020-02-03/11448

Survey Exposes Extent Of Unawareness Over Help To Buy Schemes

Half of adults in the UK (47%) are unaware that there are schemes to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder, according to new research from online mortgage broker Trussle. The national study surveyed 2,001 people UK wide and found widespread confusion over the Help To Buy ISA, Help to Buy Equity Loan, and Shared Ownership schemes. In September, the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said Help To Buy ‘helps those who can help themselves’ in balancing the scheme, increasing new-home supply against it not making homes more affordable. Read more on 24housing.

https://www.24housing.co.uk/news/survey-exposes-extent-of-unawareness-over-help-to-buy-schemes/

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many leasehold (a) houses and (b) flats have been bought using the Help to Buy equity loan scheme by region since 2013.

James Brokenshire: Up to 30 June 2018, of the 183,948 homes sold through the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme, 17,596 were recorded as leasehold houses and 27,771 were recorded as leasehold flats. Local authority level statistics are published in tables with the quarterly Help to Buy data which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/help-to-buyequity-loan-scheme-statistics-april-2013-to-30-june-2018

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2019-01-28/213228

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, how many help to buy equity loans have been made since the start of that scheme; and of those loans what proportion were for leasehold properties.

Kit Malthouse: Help to Buy: Equity Loan has helped 169,102 households buy a new-build home from its launch on 1 April 2013 until 31 March 2018. To end March 2018, overall, 24.9 per cent of these were for leasehold properties: 12.0 per cent of houses were leasehold and 92.8 per cent of flats were leasehold.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-11-06/188801

Budget 2018: Housing

The Treasury has issued a summary of housing related measures announced in the Budget on 29 October 2018, including:

• a new Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme that will run from April 2021 for 2 years

• extending Stamp Duty Land Tax relief for first time buyers to purchases of all qualifying shared ownership properties

• further investment to deliver more homes, including an extra £500m for the Housing Infrastructure Fund

• confirming that the Housing Revenue Account cap that controls local authority borrowing for house building will be abolished from 29 October.

Read the full briefing on the Treasury website.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/752109/Housing_web.pdf

Early Adopters Of Help To Buy, Get Ready To Tighten Those Belts

Thousands of first-timers who took advantage of the Government’s Help to Buy equity scheme – launched five years ago – are about to be reminded of the extra price to pay for the support received. The scheme allows borrowers to take out an interest-free loan of up to 20 per cent of the value of a new-build property worth up to £600,000 – so long as they can scrape together a five per cent deposit.  In return, the borrower must pay the Government back – plus a share of any increase in the property’s value when it is sold. But the five-year interest-free period is almost up for the early adopters. From next month they will have to start repaying 1.75 per cent interest on the Government loan (and the rate will rise annually by the Retail Price Index, currently 3.6 per cent, plus another 1 per cent). Someone who took a 20 per cent loan on a £600,000 property will be paying an extra £175 a month. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/comment/article-5539933/Early-adopters-Help-Buy-ready-tighten-belts-says-SALLY-HAMILTON.html

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Lord Kennedy of Southwark To ask Her Majesty's Government how many homes have been bought with the support of the Help to Buy scheme since April 2013.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: Help to Buy: Equity Loan has helped 144,826 households buy a new-build home from its launch in April 2013 until September 2017.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Lords/2018-03-14/HL6361

80% Of Government Housing Funding Is On Private Housing

Analysis of government figures by the CIH shows projected government investment through to 2020/21 will funnel £32bn into private programmes and £8bn into programmes for shared ownership and sub-market rent. The largest investment in private housing is the £12.5bn bill for the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme. Help to Buy ISAs, the Help to Buy guarantee scheme, and private rented sector guarantees cash make up the remainder of the funding. This investment is in the form of loans and guaranteed debt, rather than direct government spending. Its investment in affordable housing comprises mainly £4.3bn of grant under the Affordable Homes Programme. Read more on Inside Housing.

Help To Buy Helps More Than 240,000 First-Time Buyers

At least 240,000 first-time buyers have been able to purchase a home using Help to Buy, according to government statistics. The Help to Buy: ISA has in total helped more than 960,000 people save towards their own home, according to the government. The statistics also suggest that at least 285,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes, with 90 per cent of them taking place outside of London. More than 240,000 first-time buyers have purchased their first home using the schemes. The Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme has seen more than 120,000 completions. This scheme offers buyers up to 20 per cent of a newly built home’s costs so they only need a 5 per cent deposit. Read more on the Planning Portal.

Record Help To Buy Equity Loans In Last Quarter Of 2016

The government made more than 12,000 Help to Buy equity loans in the last three months of 2016, the highest quarterly figure since the scheme was launched in 2013. New Help to Buy statistics released today show 12,104 equity loans between October and December last year. This brings the total under the scheme to 112,338. It meant the government made £700m of loans to buyers in the quarter, and has a total portfolio of £5.3bn lending overall under the scheme. In the same quarter around a third of all homes were supported by an equity loan. Read more on Inside Housing.

Housing: Construction – Parliamentary Written Answer

John Healey:  To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the oral contribution of 28 November 2016, Official Report, column 1229, who the intended recipients are of the Government's £25 billion investment; how much each of those recipients will receive; and on what basis that funding will be granted.

Gavin Barwell: The Government’s planned £25 billion investment in housing means we expect to double, in real terms, our annual capital spending on housing over this Parliament. The funding includes:

·        £7.1 billion to deliver affordable housing.

·        £2.3 billion to deliver starter homes across the country to support first time buyers.

·        £8.6 billion to extend the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme to 2021 which will help more people take steps towards owning their own home.

·        £2.3 billion for a new Housing Infrastructure Fund which will be allocated to local government on a competitive basis. The Fund will provide infrastructure targeted at unlocking new private house building in the areas where housing need is greatest.

·        £3 billion for the Home Building Fund, including £1 billion for loans of up to five years and aimed at SMEs and custom builders. £2 billion of the fund is available for larger sites and infrastructure with a much longer loan period.

·        £1.7 billion of funding to pilot ‘accelerated construction’ to speed up house building on surplus public sector land

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will extend the Help to Buy scheme to enable first-time buyers to buy property off-plan in order to avoid being priced out by foreign investors.

Gavin Barwell: The Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme has enabled over 81,000 households to purchase a new-build home, to March 2016. The Government has committed a further £8.6 billion to the scheme, to provide up to 145,000 further homes by March 2021. Under London Help to Buy, which was launched in February 2016, equity loans of up to 40% are now supporting increasing numbers of first time home buyers. 

Record Number Purchase With Help To Buy Equity Loan

A record number of buyers purchased a home through the Help to Buy equity loan scheme in the second quarter of 2016, following an extension in London.  Completions using an equity loan reached 10,721 between March and June – beating the previous peak of 10,649 in the last quarter of 2015. The equity loan sees the government lend 20% of the purchase price with the buyer getting a mortgage on the rest. This was lifted to 40% in London from February. So far, 91,759 properties have been bought through the equity loan scheme. Read more on the GovUK website.

Help To Buy – The Drugs Don’t Work

A government press release on Help to Buy emphasised getting people on to the housing ladder and supporting ‘responsible lending’. Accompanying statistics, however, show it is failing to help those on normal incomes. Of those using Help to Buy Equity, 1 in 5 are already homeowners and the incomes of those using the scheme are higher than those of young renters in the regions of England where it is most popular. The median gross income of households under 40 renting outside London is £31,500 but for those who bought with Help to Buy it is £43,000– over £11,000 higher. The government’s own evaluation acknowledges that over half of those using Help to Buy Equity could have bought something similar without it. Read more on the Shelter blog.