Member Article

Help to Buy: Nearly 6,000 people in North East benefit from government scheme

Since its launch in 2013, the Help to Buy scheme has helped 5,937 people and nearly 100,000 people across the UK.

The government-led scheme helps first-time buyers get onto the property ladder, in which buyers can save up to £200 a month towards their first home and the government will boost their savings by 25%, or £50 for every £200, up to a £3,000 bonus.

Together with the government’s Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme – which offered 95% mortgages for those buying new-build properties, the number of new homeowners has reached almost 100,000 (99,601).

The North East has seen 2,203 mortgage guarantees 3,193 equity loans and 541 new buys across the region.

With almost all completions outside London, the highest number of homes have been through the mortgage guarantee scheme in the North West region. The equity loan – a scheme for new build properties – is particularly high in the South East region.

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said: “The government’s Help to Buy scheme has now helped nearly 100,000 working people across the UK achieve their aspiration of buying a new or bigger home.

“And I’m looking forward to these numbers growing even more with the launch of the new Help to Buy ISA this autumn, which will ensure that first time buyers saving for a deposit get an additional boost from the government.

“Key to our long term plan is providing economic security for working people, at every stage in life. The security of owning your own home is a big part of this, which is where Help to Buy comes in. It’s also boosting the economy more widely by driving an increase in house building in Britain, ensuring long-term housing supply and creating jobs.

“That’s why I committed £6 billion to extend Help to Buy to at least 2020, giving developers certainty so they can plan for future Help to Buy housing schemes and continue to boost housing supply. Today I’ve confirmed the first annual allocation of nearly £1.5 billion, providing funding for Help to Buy equity loan for 2016/17.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .