The purchase of homes through the Government’s Help to Buy scheme increased by nine per cent in the year to March 2019.
The Help to Buy system allows buyers who have a deposit of five per cent an interest-free Government loan of up to 40 per cent of the total purchase price of new build houses in London and 20 per cent for homes in the rest of the country.
The scheme first launched in April 2013, with more than 221,000 homes being purchased during that time. First-time buyers make up the majority of those purchases (81 per cent) with the average price of a home in the scheme being £260,218.
The data published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has revealed that 52,404 property sales were completed under the scheme during the 12 month period, the first time it reached over 50,000 in a year.
First-time buyers accounted for 43,248 purchases in total, a figure that has increased 11 per cent year on year.
London saw 6,115 purchases using the scheme, a figure increasing 30 per cent year on year, with first-time buyers accounting for 95 per cent (5,838 homes) of these purchases.
Average prices of a property purchased through Help to Buy across England has reached £300,487 up 4 per cent from £288,462 at the same point during 2018.
The scheme was due to finish in 2023. However, newly appointed Secretary of State for Housing, Robert Jenrick, said the Government will consider an extension due to the success of the scheme.
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