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Help to Buy prices hit record high
The average price of first-time buyer properties bought with Help to Buy equity loans in England has hit record levels growing at a rate that outstrips wages, official figures show.
Government statistics released today showed the mean purchase price for first-time buyer properties bought under the scheme between July and September last year was up 12% to £278,189 from £249,234 in the same period in 2016.
In the same timeframe, the average total applicant household income under the Help to Buy equity loan scheme was up to £54,019, increasing from £50,302 in 2016.
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Most of the home purchases made under the equity loan scheme since its launch on 1 April 2013 were made by first-time buyers, accounting for 81% – 116,898 – of total purchases.
The number of legal completions to first-time buyers under the loan scheme in Q3 of 2017 was 8,182, down from the scheme’s peak of 11,168 completions in Q2 of 2017.
In other Help to Buy statistics released today, the government revealed that more than 350,000 completions had taken place using one or more of the Help to Buy schemes since they were launched in 2013. More than 93% of completions across the schemes have taken place outside of London.
Housing minister Dominic Raab said: “This government is committed to helping more people get on the housing ladder, with the support of a range of low-cost homeownership products.”
But Andy Sommerville, director at conveyancing search firm Search Acumen, said: “If the rate of house price growth is double the rate at which first-time buyer wages are increasing within the scheme, we have created and are sustaining a broken system.”
