Member Article

Over £14 million in Help to Buy loans secured in North East at the end of last year

Around 470 Help to Buy loans were secured by North East house buyers in the final quarter of 2014, government data shows.

Figures announced by Community Secretary Eric Pickles and Housing Minister Kris Hopkins this week show £14.69 million of equity loans were taken out by buyers in the region.

County Durham lead the region in terms of loans value at £2.53 million, while South Tyneside was bottom with overall value of £370,459.

Nationally, the average price of a property bought under the Help to Buy scheme stood at £184k, and 89% of completed sales were by first time buyers.

Mr Pickles said: “In 2010 we inherited a broken housing market, where buyers couldn’t buy, builders couldn’t build, and lenders couldn’t lend.

“We’re now seeing buyers returning to the market in droves, and new homes being built across the country. Both buying and building are at their highest levels since 2007, underpinned by our action to cut the deficit and keep interest rates low.

“But there’s still more to do, and improving the housing market will remain a vital part of our long-term economic plan.”

Government has hailed the scheme as a success as the Department for Communities and Local Government pointed to the positive results of major house builder Barratt Homes as confirmation of this.

The statistics also showed numbers of the Right to Buy scheme, which was reinvigorated in April 2012, where eligible tenants could access discounts of up to £75k off the value of their home.

Nearly 24,000 social housing tenants have become homeowners through the scheme so far.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .