Member Article

Thousands use Help to Buy in Yorkshire

A government initiative is helping thousands of families in Yorkshire get on the housing ladder. New figures released by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) have revealed that over 7,300 homebuyers in Yorkshire used the Help to Buy scheme since it launched three years ago.

Within the region, the districts which made the best use of the scheme were Leeds (1,235), Wakefield (1,000), Hull (790) and Bradford (773). 84% of those using the scheme have been first time buyers, with 6,213 homes bought by ‘first timers’ in Yorkshire using Help to Buy.

Local housebuilder Barratt Homes Yorkshire East and Barratt Homes Yorkshire West is encouraging homebuyers throughout the region to take part in the popular scheme, which has already helped tens of thousands of people across the country buy a brand new home. The scheme enables anyone, both first time buyers and existing owners, to put down a five per cent deposit, allowing them to take advantage of a government equity loan, which provides access to more affordable mortgage rates.

Paul Hogan, Sales Director at Barratt Homes Yorkshire East, commented: “Yorkshire has produced some strong results for Help to Buy and it is great to see the scheme helping buyers from Hull to York take their first step onto, or next step up, the property ladder. Help to Buy has proved beneficial to so many buyers looking to purchase a home, and we would encourage anyone looking to buy a property with lower upfront costs to get in touch and see what the scheme could do for you.”

Sam Wood, Sales Director at Barratt Homes Yorkshire West, added: “Help to Buy has been instrumental in allowing first time buyers to purchase a home who may have struggled otherwise, and its fantastic to see the scheme helping so many people in Yorkshire. Leeds in particular has seen the highest number of Help to Buy sales in the region, with over 80% of these being first time buyers, and it’s great to see so many people in the area being able to make that all important first step onto the property ladder.”

Help to Buy allows any homebuyer to secure a brand new home under the value of £600,000 with just a five per cent deposit. The government lends the buyer 20 per cent of the value of the property in the form of an interest free equity loan for five years, meaning that buyers can gain access to some of the great mortgage rates currently available with a 75 per cent mortgage. Available to all homebuyers, not just first timers, the scheme helps anyone looking for a boost up the property ladder.

On the Barratt Homes website there is more information on Help to Buy - http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/Offers/Help-to-Buy/ together with a handy calculator which shows how much people can borrow using the scheme.

Barratt Developments has helped more than 18,500 people buy their home through government shared equity schemes such as Help to Buy, more than any other housebuilder. Barratt Homes is currently working on new developments throughout Yorkshire. For more information visit www.barratthomes.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Richard Savage .