Nearly 325,000 Homes Purchased Through 'Help To Buy' Scheme

Almost 325,000 homes across the UK have been bought through the government’s Help to Buy housing scheme since its launch in December 2015. Help to Buy ISAs — through which the government boosts first-time home-buyers’ savings by 25%, up to a maximum of £3,000 — have now supported 323,767 property completions, official data shows. So far, 426,565 “bonuses” — or government boosts — have been paid out, with the average bonus coming in at £1,000, leading the overall value of bonuses to £426.74m by the end of March, according to the Treasury. Read more on the Yahoo Finance website.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/nearly-325000-homes-purchased-through-help-to-buy-scheme-143748310.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaG91c2luZ25ldC5jby51ay9Ib3VzaW5nX05ld3MvSG91c2luZ05ldF9OZXdzX1VubG9ja2VkLmh0bWw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAC7HibRXiCLQ-PEfHThhZMrZGfo8m__17Rs-mfPP80Lt0NhGku68cMY_UbHzV8sck0VSkebaS7uoiMlHt5M0u2RQGqAl1HB2EB9M-2s6dcPU8yUlFSW-185puyCAPHboR8SdHklmFBg4LrrMrSsbRtCQQRKM41M61iUIUTiEsjhr

Mortgage Lending Fell In 2019

2019 saw the first fall in annual gross mortgage lending since 2010, the UK Finance Household Finance Review (Q4 2019) has revealed. There was a decline of new loans for both residential and buy-to-let purchase products, while first-time volumes fell by 0.6%. Miles Robinson, head of mortgages at online mortgage broker Trussle, said: “The fall in mortgage lending highlights what we’ve known for some time; that there is a real lack of suitable properties at the more affordable end of the market. When you also consider the closure of the government’s Help To Buy ISA – there will be even more pressure on the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak to deliver for first-time buyers in next week’s Budget.” Read more on Property Wire.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/mortgage-lending-fell-in-2019

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/

Cheap Loans And Help To Buy Continue To Support First-Time Buyer Market

The government’s Help to Buy programme and low-deposit mortgages are helping to prop up the first-time buyer market. Research by Aldermore revealed nearly a third (29%) of prospective buyers believed getting onto the property ladder was difficult, while being able to access affordable housing was cited as the second largest challenge, cited by 23%. But the chances of raising a deposit was regarded as less of an obstacle than last year. Assistance through low-deposit mortgages and saving schemes such as the Help to Buy ISA had boosted first-time buyers’ prospects. Read more on the Aldermore website.

https://www.aldermore.co.uk/about-us/newsroom/2019/11/first-time-buyer-index-shows-the-home-buying-process-remains-difficult-for-new-buyers/

Nationwide Calls For Extension Of Help To Buy Isa

Nationwide has called for the government to extend access to the Help To Buy Isa. There is now a year to go until the deadline for applying for a Help to Buy Isa. The accounts have been available since December 2015 and were designed to help first-time buyers save for a house deposit. The scheme closes to new applications on 30 November 2019. Each saver in the scheme can benefit from a government bonus of between £400 and £3,000. A saver would need to save a total of £12,000 to get the maximum bonus. Read more on the Mortgage Strategy website.

https://www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk/nationwide-calls-for-extension-of-help-to-buy-isa/

More Than 420,000 People Get On The Housing Ladder With Help To Buy

More than 420,000 people have now used the government’s Help to Buy schemes, new figures show. First-time buyers continue to open new Help to Buy: ISA accounts, with more than 1.2 million accounts now opened, offering government bonuses of up to £3,000 on top of their savings. Quarterly Help to Buy statistics show that:

·         more than 420,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes

·         more than 365,400 first-time buyer households are now on the housing ladder thanks to Help to Buy

·         the North West is the region with the highest number of Help to Buy completions (more than 20,000 in the last quarter)

Read more on the Gov UK website.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-420000-people-get-on-the-housing-ladder-with-help-to-buy

Help To Buy Supports Over 320,000 People In Buying Their Own Home

The government’s Help to Buy schemes have continued their success, supporting over 320,000 people across the UK to buy a home. Over 1 million Help to Buy: ISAs have now been opened by first time buyers, offering government bonuses of up to £3,000 towards the cost of a first home.

Statistics show that:

·         over 320,000 completions have taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes

·         over 275,000 first time buyers are now on the housing ladder thanks to Help to Buy

·         the average house price across the schemes is £196,092, below the average UK house price

·         over 90% of completions across the Help to Buy schemes have taken place outside of London

Read more on the CLG website.

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 Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Royston Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost has been to the public purse of the Help to Buy ISA policy since the introduction of that scheme.

Royston Smith: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the cost has been to the public purse of the Help to Buy policy since the introduction of that scheme.

Stephen Barclay: From the introduction of the Help to Buy: ISA on 1 December 2015 to 31 March 2017, the total value of bonuses paid was £54m. Between the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme on 1 April 2013 to 31March 2017, the total value of equity loans provided through scheme was £5.86bn.

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.

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Richard Burgon:  To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people have received assistance from the Government's Help to Buy scheme in the UK in each year since 2010.

Gavin Barwell: Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan, Help to Buy: Mortgage Guarantee and Help to Buy: NewBuy schemes, the total number of households which have received assistance from all three schemes is 201,322 in the UK. The total number of people who have received assistance from the Help to Buy ISA is 38,595 in the UK. The Help to Buy ISA figures are based on the number of bonuses paid (per person) rather than per property.

Help To Buy ISA Can’t Be Used Towards First-Time Buyers’ Deposits

Savers have expressed their shock after it was revealed the Government’s Help to Buy ISA cannot actually be used by first-time buyers towards a deposit on a house. Paid in a lump sum, deposits are usually 10 per cent of the total cost of a house and worth tens of thousands of pounds. They are widely considered the largest obstacle to home ownership. But contrary to how the scheme appears to have been portrayed, the ISA is not actually allowed to contribute towards the deposit and instead can only be used after the house purchase has been completed. This means it can only to be used towards the more easily managed monthly mortgage payment. Read more on the Independent website.

Home Group To Help Those Set To Miss Out On Right To Buy

Home Group has devised a way to help its customers overcome one of the biggest barriers to owning a place of their own – saving for a deposit while paying rent. Home Group has committed to match, pound for pound, the Government cash bonus to savers using a Help to Buy ISA to save for a mortgage deposit. In what is believed to be a sector first, Home Group will also commit to a house price inflation freeze of up to five years as customers gather a deposit to buy their home. Customers who express an intention to buy their home could also benefit from reduced rent while they are saving. Read more on the Home Group website.

Help To Buy: ISAs Opened By Over Half A Million

Over half a million people have opted for a Help to Buy ISA. The government’s Help to Buy schemes have helped over 160,000 people achieve their aspiration of home ownership by offering bonuses of up to £3,000 towards a house purchase. The schemes continue to benefit first time buyers overwhelmingly, with 129,000 households buying their first home thanks to the scheme. With the majority of completions outside London, the highest number of homes completed through both the Help to Buy: ISA and mortgage guarantee schemes has been in the North West region. Read more on 24dash.

Homes 'Too Expensive' For Help To Buy Isa Scheme

Would-be-homeowners in large parts of England are being priced out of a government scheme to help first-time buyers, a BBC investigation has found. The Help to Buy Individual Savings Account (HTB Isa) was introduced last year to help people save for a home. In many areas, the average price of a starter home exceeds the maximum purchase cap of £250,000, or £450,000 in London. However, the bonus is only available if the purchase price does not exceed the cap. Housing charity Shelter said it only helped "the lucky few" and the government should focus on building more homes. Read more on the BBC website.

Help To Buy: ISA – 6 Things You Might Not Know

1.       Several banks and building societies offer the Help to Buy: ISA

2.       You can put up to £200 away in your Help to Buy: ISA per calendar month

3.       Your bonus funds must be used towards your property’s completion

4.       The interest you earn on the money in your account will count towards your government bonus

5.       When you are ready to purchase your first home your solicitor or conveyancer will apply for your bonus

6.       You need to apply for your bonus within 12 months of closing your account

Read more details on the Treasury website.

Help To Buy: ISA – 6 Things You Might Not Know

1.       If you’re thinking about opening a Help to Buy: ISA on 1 December, here’s some useful information.  Several banks and building societies have already committed to offer the Help to Buy: ISA from 1 December

2.       You can put up to £200 away in your Help to Buy: ISA per calendar month

3.       Your bonus funds must be used towards your property’s completion

4.       The interest you earn on the money in your account will count towards your government bonus

5.       When you are ready to purchase your first home your solicitor or conveyancer will apply for your bonus

6.       You need to apply for your bonus within 12 months of closing your account

For more details see the Gov.uk website.

250,000 Would-Be Home-Owners Open Help To Buy Isa

The 250,000 total equates to one account every 30 seconds or more than 3,000 a day across the UK. The Government said figures provided by some of the banks offering the new Isas show that three-quarters (75%) of people who have opened them so far have been aged 30 and under. First-time buyers can put up to £200 a month in a dedicated Isa that the Government will top up by 25% - meaning a £ 50 bonus for every £200 saved. The maximum Government bonus is £3,000. To receive that, someone will need to have saved £12,000.First-time buyers can also open their account with a one-off lump sum of up to £1,000 in addition to the monthly £200 maximum deposit. Read more on the Express & Star website.

Help to Buy Scheme – Parliamentary Written Answer

Daniel Zeichner:  To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will revise the eligibility criteria for first time buyers under the Help to Buy ISA scheme to £450,000 in areas outside London where the average house price is above £250,000.

Harriett Baldwin: The government does not plan to revise the eligibility criteria for the Help to Buy: ISA scheme.

Help To Buy: Helping 130,000 Own Their Own Home

Since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan and Mortgage Guarantee schemes:

·         80% of scheme completions have been made by first-time buyers, with more expected following the launch of the government’s Help to Buy: ISA scheme on 1 December

·         average house price was £186,000, significantly below the national average

·         over 130,000 housing completions through the Help to Buy scheme

·         94% of Help to Buy completions took place outside of London

·         almost half of Help to Buy completions have been for new-build homes

Read more on the CLG website.