Member Article

Over 1,000 Durham buyers use Help to Buy

Following news out this week that home ownership is at a 30 year low, with the problem becoming inherently worse in the north[1], one housebuilder says it is bucking the trend due to Help to Buy. The government initiative has helped over 1,000 buyers in Durham to get on to the housing ladder. New figures released by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) reveal that a total of 1,081 homebuyers in County Durham used the Help to Buy scheme since it launched three years ago.

Almost all of those using the scheme have been first time buyers (88%), with 957 homes being bought by ‘first timers’ in Durham using Help to Buy. Local housebuilder, Barratt Homes North East, 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 to buy a brand new home. At Barratt Homes North East’s Merrington Park development on Vyners Close, Spennymoor, 58% of all homes sold have been bought using the Help to Buy scheme, whilst Barratt Homes North East has recently completed its 750th Help to Buy.

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 then gain access to some of the great mortgage rates currently available with just 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.

Fenton Hewitt, Sales Director for Barratt Homes North East, said:

“Our region has produced some strong results for the Help to Buy scheme and it is great to see Durham in particular achieving such high figures for the scheme in the region. Help to Buy has proved so helpful to so many homebuyers and we would encourage anyone looking to buy a home with lower upfront costs to get in touch.”

On the Barratt Homes website, there is lots more information on Help to Buy - http://www.barratthomes.co.uk/Offers/Help-to-Buy/ together with a calculator that shows how much people can borrow using the scheme. The housebuilder has helped more than 18,500 people buy their home through government shared equity schemes such as Help to Buy, FirstBuy and HomeBuy Direct, more than any other housebuilder

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