Help To Buy Taking First-Time Buyers Backwards In Time

Buyers are using the Government’s Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme to “sidestep” four years of house price inflation, according to Mortgage Advice Bureau. In its latest National Mortgage Index, the mortgage broker firm shows the average house purchase using a Help to Buy 2 mortgage was £151,021 in April 2014. It’s been four years since the average first-time buyer paid a comparable price, MAB said; £151,000 in March 2010, according to ONS statistics. This average has since risen by 27% to £193,000 in March 2014, leaving a 22% difference between today’s typical first time buyer purchase and that using a Help to Buy 2 mortgage. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.