Latest MHCLG Help to Buy statistics show that oer the period since the launch of the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme (1 April 2013 to 31 March 2018), 169,102 properties were bought with an equity loan.
The total value of these equity loans was £8.93 billion, with the value of the properties sold under the scheme totalling £42.23 billion.
Most of the home purchases in the Help to Buy: Equity Loan scheme were made by first-time buyers, accounting for 136,657 (81%) of total purchases.
The report said the mean purchase price of a property bought under the scheme was £249,708, compared with a mean equity loan of £52,834.
In London, the maximum equity loan was increased from 20% to 40% from February 2016, and since then to March 2018, there were 7,978 completions in London, of which 6,548 were made with an equity loan higher than 20%.
For the Help to Buy: NewBuy scheme, 5,694 house purchases were made since the launch of the scheme in March 2012. There were no new transactions in Q1 2018 due to the scheme closing to new mortgage offers on 8 March 2015.
Craig Hall, new build manager at Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “Help to Buy has evidently become an important part of our housing market, consistently helping more than 80% of first-time buyers get on the property ladder and supporting growing families with moving up the ladder.
“Whilst the scheme certainly eases the issues with affordability and a raising a large deposit, over recent years we have seen mortgage lenders improving their core new build offering, providing further choice and reducing the dependency on the scheme for many borrowers.
“It’s no secret that we need to build over 300,000 new homes a year to keep up with demand; and the Government will need to find a range of solutions in order to help meet this target. Whether it’s guaranteeing the scheme post-2021, increasing support for other affordable schemes such as Shared Ownership, or relaxing planning restrictions, we need new supply entering the market – stimulating growth and allowing it to better serve those who need it most.”
