The Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme for first-time buyers started again on 1 April and will continue to increase the supply of new homes over the next two years and help thousands more people to own their home.
Help to Buy extension
The UK Government had announced a further two-month extension for Help to Buy customers following delays caused by the pandemic. The extension will run until 31 May 2021, allowing homebuilders to complete the build and buyers to legally complete their purchase.
New Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme
First-time buyers looking to purchase a home in England will continue to receive Government support under the revised Help to Buy: Equity Loan Scheme (2021-2023), which is now open for applications with buyers able to move into their new properties from 1 April 2021.
Purchasers can borrow up to 20 per cent of the cost of a new build (40 per cent in London), funding the balance via a mortgage and repaying the loan when they sell.
Statistics:
- 313,043 households have now bought a home with the support of the Help to Buy Scheme since its launch in 2013
- In the three months up to December 2020, there were 21,026 completions, the highest quarterly annual total ever and 40 per cent higher than the same period in 2019
- Most of the home purchases in the Scheme were made by first-time buyers, accounting for 257,520 (82 per cent) of total purchases
Help to buy has introduced a great number of first-time buyers into the market, which we know is crucial to keeping things moving. It’s interesting to see that despite the restrictions of the pandemic, MHCLG has reported figures showing the scheme has been almost doubling its applicants in the latter part of 2020. These numbers echo our research, which shows the increased appetite of buyers across the overall market.
